Andy Murray is enjoying the second chapter of his life, after retiring from professional tennis at the Paris Olympics this summer. The former Scottish champion has been one of the main protagonists of the men's tour over the past two decades, despite having to compete with legends such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
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The 3-time Grand Slam champion can be really proud of his career - which has given him a lot of satisfaction - including the joy of becoming world number 1 in 2016. The British legend might have dreamed of a better last part of his career, but some serious injuries prevented him from playing at the level he would have liked.
As fans recall, Murray looked very close to retiring as early as the 2019 Australian Open due to a serious hip injury. Andy underwent a very delicate surgery, which allowed him to play for a few more years. The two-time Wimbledon champion practiced very hard and squeezed his body over the limit, but his level was no longer what he had in his best years. Murray continued to fight despite the signals coming from his body, until a back injury convinced him that it was time to end his amazing career.
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Murray's announcement
Despite his great love for tennis, Andy has accepted the decision to retire with serenity and is spending a lot of time with his beautiful family. Murray has always had many other passions besides tennis and now he has the time to cultivate and develop them. A few hours ago, the former world No. 1 made a really exciting announcement that surprised everyone. I am stepping onto a different stage this summer. Come and see me on my first ever theatre tour, with Andrey Cotter in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Hammersmith and Wimbledon Murray wrote on his official X profile.
The 3-time Grand Slam champion is not afraid to try new experiences and wants to succeed even outside the tennis court. Andy was lucky enough to become a great champion and earn a lot of money, but he was always socially active and never forgot his origins. The last few years of his career have been particularly tough for him and his team, who have often seen him suffer from injuries.
Andy on his new life
During a recent interview with BBC Radio 4, Andy opened up on his life after retirement: "Since Ive stopped, I feel really free and have got lots of time to do whatever it is I want. I can dedicate time to my children and have free time to play golf or go to the gym on my own terms. It is really nice and I didnt expect that. I was expecting to find retirement hard and be missing tennis a lot and wanting to get back on the tennis court on tour. So far, it has been the complete opposite to what I was thinking.
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The Scotsman also revealed that he lost a lot of weight after his farewell to professional tennis: "I went to the gym three of the first four days after I stopped, worked really hard, and then went up to Scotland for a couple of days for a holiday, and haven't been back since. It's been five weeks I've not been in the gym, longest ever for me probably.
I don't know if it's like appetite, if I'm not eating as much, but we obviously have like loads of the sport drinks have got lot of calories in them, and I only really drink water and coffee now. So I don't know, I think just less calories and probably loss of muscle. I've lost about 11, 12 pounds. It's a lot. I was expecting the opposite to happen.
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Recently, Davis Cup Finals director Feliciano Lopez revealed that Murray will be present in Malaga to pay tribute to his former rival Rafael Nadal. The 22-time Grand Slam champion will retire right at the end of the Davis Cup Finals, in which he will represent Spain for the last time.
The Fab Four (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray) have created a truly iconic rivalry over the past two decades, taking tennis into a new dimension and leaving very little for all their rivals. Andy has taken his body beyond the limits in order to realize his huge dream of becoming world number 1, thanks to a truly impressive 2016 season. From 2017, injuries began to affect his career and worsened in the following years. At the same time, the 3-time Grand Slam champion has become an example of resilience and determination for younger players.
