Andy Murray has been snubbed by Olympic tennis organisers ahead of his retirement. The two-time gold medallist will end his career at the Paris 2024 games and he is only competing in the men’s doubles event with Dan Evans.
But their first-round tie against Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel has been scheduled last on Court Suzanne-Lenglen on Sunday – the second-biggest showcourt at Stade Roland Garros.
It means that, if they lose, Murray’s last-ever match won’t be on the main Court Philippe-Chatrier.
It’s already set to be an anti-climatic affair when Murray ends his spectacular, 19-year career at the Olympics as there will be no real send-off for the former world No. 1.
The International Tennis Federation previously explained that they come under IOC guidance, and Olympic bosses do not hold retirement ceremonies. And Murray’s retirement could have even less fanfare as he has been snubbed from the biggest court at Roland Garros.
Those in charge of the schedule have already shown that high-profile doubles matches can get top billing on Chatrier as Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz faced Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in the 15,000-strong stadium on Saturday night.
But Murray has not been afforded the same luxury for his last professional tennis tournament, despite having two Olympic gold medals in singles to his name from the 2012 and 2016 games.
Meanwhile, Evans will be on double duty as he will also contest his first-round singles clash earlier in the day on Court 10. The world No. 59 was meant to play on Saturday but it was a washout with all outside matches cancelled due to rain.
Murray first earmarked his retirement back in February, claiming he wasn’t planning to play beyond the summer. But he did not completely commit to his end date until earlier this week, when he took to social media to confirm that he would hang it up after the Olympics.
He wrote: “Arrived in Paris for my last ever tennis tournament @Olympics Competing for GB have been by far the most memorable weeks of my career and I’m extremely proud to get do it one final time!”
The 37-year-old pulled out of the singles event moments before the draw was made on Thursday, citing his decision to focus completely on the doubles. Ahead of his retirement, he said: “I’m happy about it.
“Look, a few months ago I didn’t know, I wasn’t happy about potentially stopping, I was quite unsure about it. But now that the time is here, now I’ve made that decision definitively, I feel good about it.
