Why Andy Murray will NOT get a big farewell after his final match at the Olympics
Andy Murray has confirmed that he will retire from tennis after a fifth and final appearance in the Olympic Games, but he will not be given a big send-off in Paris.
Murray was given an emotional farewell at Wimbledon after his final match on Centre Court earlier this month, but Olympic protocol will ensure he won’t get a similar reception after the final match of his career.
High-profile athletes often end their careers at the Olympic Games, so the International Olympic Committee do not provide a platform for ceremonies and celebrations to acknowledge individual athletes at their event.
An exception could be made for Murray, but that seems highly unlikely and his former British Davis Cup colleague Dominic Inglot has suggested he doesn’t enjoy the prospect of lavish farewells.
“I’m not sure he really wants that or needs that,” said 2015 Davis Cup winner Inglot told Sky News.
“I don’t think Andy is someone who needs a big send off and he feels a little awkward in there. We saw that creeping in when he had his last send-off at Wimbledon.
“He will be sharing it with his close friends at the British team and the fact that it is a little understated for him is better.
“Let me tell you, the moment you retire hits you like a tonne of bricks. He would prefer to deal with that in private.”
It had been widely expected that the 37-year-old Scot would call time on his career after the Olympics as he looked to go out at the top.
Murray was recently robbed of a Wimbledon farewell in the singles after he had surgery on a spinal cyst just a week before the tournament began.
The three-time Grand Slam champion, who is the only man to have won two Olympic tennis singles gold medals, said on Instagram: “Arrived in Paris for my last ever tennis tournament @Olympics.
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“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!”
Murray first represented Team GB at the Beijing Games in 2008 but it was his gold medal performance at London 2012 which took his career to the next level.
He won his first Grand Slam at the US Open a month later and then became the first British Wimbledon champion in 77 years the following year.
The Scot, who led Great Britain to a historic Davis Cup victory in 2015, then won his second Wimbledon crown in 2016 and followed it up by becoming the only man to win two Olympic gold medals in the singles when he topped the podium in Rio in 2016.
But a chronic hip injury derailed his career and he needed a metal plate inserting into the joint in 2019.
The final few years of his career were played against a backdrop of no longer being physically capable of achieving the level which saw him become the world number one at the end of 2016.
ITF President and IOC Member Dave Haggerty said: “Sir Andy Murray has lived and breathed the values of tennis throughout his long career, championing equality and helping to send the message that our sport is for everyone.
“We will of course remember his two Olympic golds, his Grand Slam wins and his never-say-die attitude on the court. We will also remember his Davis Cup victory with Great Britain in 2015, helping his team to the title for the first time since 1936.
“While this wonderful chapter of his on-court career is now drawing to a close, we know that Sir Andy’s love of tennis will see him continue to be involved in helping to grow and develop our sport globally.”
