Andy Murray could end up retiring to no fanfare at the Olympics as tennis bosses have confessed that their hands may be tied when it comes to giving the two-time gold medallist a farewell ceremony.
The former world No. 1 has confirmed on multiple occasions that he will likely stop playing after the Olympic Games and he is planning to say goodbye at Paris 2024.
The International Tennis Federation will have to convince Murray to make the trip to Manchester in September for Britain’s David Cup group stage tie if they want to give his career the send-off it deserves.
Murray is preparing to say goodbye to Wimbledon over the coming days after entering the men’s doubles draw with his brother Jamie and the mixed doubles with Emma Raducanu. While the All England Club is ready to give him a ceremony if he wishes, things could be different when the Brit plays his last match ever at the Olympics.
The 37-year-old has spent most of the year preparing to play his last match over the summer. And as time has gone on, he has chosen the Paris Games at Roland Garros to be the venue for his retirement after being called up in both the singles and the doubles with Dan Evans.
But Murray’s decision could backfire as the ITF has now admitted that the International Olympic Committee could prevent a farewell ceremony for the three-time Grand Slam champion. “I think we are in discussions with various players,” ITF president David Haggerty said on Thursday.
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 hours before Andy’s Wimbledon doubles match with Jamie, Haggerty said they would attempt to celebrate his career at another tournament.
“But we have had conversations regarding some of our other competitions, like Davis Cup,” he continued. “And you know, we’d like to work with the players and do something that they feel is appropriate and right. So don’t have the final answer for you on that, but we certainly would like to celebrate some of the legends of our game.”
Asked to clarify whether there would be no tribute to Murray at the Olympics and if it could be deferred to the David Cup, Haggerty replied: “A lot will come down to, you know, what Andy himself would like to do.”
And ITF CEO Kelly Fairweather explained that Olympic bosses were unlikely to let them pay tribute to Murray. She added: “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.
