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Andy Murray's Wimbledon career is OVER after Emma Raducanu pulls out of mixed doubles in disappointing end to his final SW19 run

4 months ago 33

By Iwan Stone and Matthew Lambert

Published: 14:20 BST, 6 July 2024 | Updated: 14:58 BST, 6 July 2024

British legend Andy Murray's Wimbledon career has ended in tragedy as his swansong match was cancelled before it even began - after his mixed doubles partner Emma Raducanu pulled out with a bad wrist.

Murray - who won the country's 76-year wait for a tennis grand slam in 2012 - was intending to play his last matches with the 21-year-old English star in a celebratory climax to his stunning career.

The 37-year-old had been forced to bow out of the singles on Monday with a back injury to the heartbreak of scores of British fans, losing alongside his brother Jamie in the first round of the men's doubles. 


A two-time champion at Wimbledon, the Scottish star's heartbreak comes after he bid the championship a tearful goodbye on Centre Court earlier this week - admitting it was now 'too tough' for him to continue playing.

Raducanu had previously described her excitement at playing with Murray - saying it was her 'dream' mixed doubles partnership.

She said in a statement: 'Unfortunately I woke up with some stiffness in my right wrist this morning, so therefore I have decided to make the very tough decision to withdraw from the mixed doubles tonight. 

Andy Murray's Wimbledon career is over after Emma Raducanu's mixed doubles withdrawal

Andy Murray was visibly emotional as the crowd paid a Centre Court tribute to the star earlier this week

The British duo had been set to compete together but Raducanu (right) has pulled out due to wrist soreness

The withdrawl means Murray's last game at SW19 was his men's doubles defeat alongside brother Jamie earlier this week

'I'm disappointed as I was really looking forward to playing with Andy but got to take care.' 

Murray is set to retire at the Olympics, but the All England Club chose the emotional moment alongside his brother to celebrate his legacy. 

Sue Barker, who stepped down as the BBC's presenter of Wimbledon after 2022, returned especially to interview Murray on court, joking that she 'couldn't miss this'.

The Olympic 2012 hero had come back to play in the tournament just days after undergoing spinal surgery, making a brave return in the hopes he could see out his SW19 career in style.

It comes as he ends a stunning athletic career - after ranking at world number one for 41 weeks and winning a stunning three Grand Slam singles titles.

He also thrashed his way to victory at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games - becoming the only male player to have defended a singles gold medal.

Raducanu is due to play her fourth-round match against New Zealand's Lulu Sun on Sunday, and at this stage there is no suggestion her wrist injury will rule her out of that match.

The 21-year-old thrashed No 9 seed Maria Sakkari to move into the third round of the singles on Friday night and said of her doubles with Murray: 'It's just an amazing opportunity to be able to play with him. It's something that I'm going to cherish.'

But Raducanu on Saturday afternoon decided to be cautious with a wrist on which she had surgery last year.

She was asked after her second-round win whether she had any hesitation in agreeing to play mixed doubles with Murray. 'For me it was a no-brainer,' she replied. 'In my team, they were asking me, 'Emma, are you sure you want to play? Just in case you're still in the tournament'. I was like 'No-brainer'.'

So there was clearly some uncertainty in her team about the prospect of her playing three days in a row, and Raducanu herself said after the Sakkari win: 'The scheduling of (the mixed) was not ideal.'

That was a reference to the fact they had been placed fourth on No 1 Court and were facing an extremely late night – far from ideal preparation for one of the bigger matches of her life.

Murray had cut an emotional figure after his and Jamie's straight sets defeat on Thursday

Centre Court paid tribute to the former World No 1 after the defeat by John Peers and Rinky Hijikata

Raducanu, meanwhile, said in a statement that she woke up with stiffnes in her right wrist

That was widely seen as an attempt by the All England Club to make sure the match did not clash with England v Switzerland at Euro 2024. 

But actually Wimbledon had little choice in positioning the match late, because one of the British pair's opponents, El Salvador's Marcelo Arevalo, had his first-round men's doubles rained off on Friday and had to finish it this morning, so the schedule had to allow him sufficient time to rest between his two matches.

It surely means Murray's final match at Wimbledon was his straight sets first round defeat with his brother Jamie in the men's doubles on Thursday night, after which he took a look back at his career on court with Sue Barker.

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