Andy Murray could be denied the send-off he deserves at the Olympics despite confirming that he will retire after representing Great Britain in Paris. The 37-year-old announced on Tuesday that he will be hanging up his racket after the Olympics to bring the curtain down on his glittering career.
Murray was given a rousing reception in his final match at Wimbledon earlier this month but it seems he will not receive a farewell ceremony at the Olympics. Tennis bosses have already confessed that their hands may be tied by the International Olympic Committee, who could prevent Murray from being given a fitting send-off.
David Haggerty, president of the International Tennis Federation, said: “I think we are in discussions with various players. A lot comes down to what they want and what they may think about, and often times we find that players don’t want to talk about it at this moment and aren’t prepared.
Speaking before Murray’s final match at Wimbledon, Haggerty suggested the ITF would need to convince Murray to play at the Davis Cup in order to give him the farewell ceremony he deserves.
We have had conversations regarding some of our other competitions, like the Davis Cup,” he said. “And you know, we’d like to work with the players and do something that they feel is appropriate and right.
So I don’t have the final answer for you on that, but we certainly would like to celebrate some of the legends of our game. A lot will come down to, you know, what Andy himself would like to do.”
ITF CEO Kelly Fairweather went on to explain that Olympic bosses are unlikely to grant permission for Murray to be honoured when he bows out in Paris, saying: “If you’re asking about Paris, we obviously fall under the direction of the IOC, and generally the IOC don’t do that for any athlete across the Games. So as Dave says, we’ll be looking to do that at one of our events.”
Given that Murray has no plans to feature at the Davis Cup or any other tournaments, it seems he will not be given a goodbye ceremony unless he changes his mind.
He took to X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday to confirm his retirement plans, saying: “Arrived in Paris for my last ever tennis tournament competing for [Team GB]. Have been by far the most memorable weeks of my career and I’m extremely proud to get do it one final time.
