Andy Murray ‘unlikely to play past summer’ as tennis retirement nears

Murray says he wants to play at the Olympics, but is ‘likely’ to stop after the summer

Andy Murray has said it is “likely” he will retire from tennis after this summer’s Olympic Games, with this year’s Wimbledon Championships set to be his last.

The 36-year-old was beaten in the second round of the Dubai International on Wednesday and said afterwards that he is “bored” of answering questions about his future.

Murray earlier told the Today Programme that he wants to play another Olympic Games before he retires, after suggesting on Monday that he was entering the “last few months” of his career.

But the three-time grand slam champion and two-time Wimbledon winner then said after his straight-sets defeat to Ugo Humbert that he is unlikely to keep playing past the summer.

Murray, who will turn 37 in May, said: "I'm likely not going to play past this summer. I get asked about it after every single match that I play, every single tournament that I play. I'm bored of the question, to be honest.

“I’m not going to talk more about that between now and whenever the time comes for me to stop. But, yes, I don’t plan on playing much past this summer.”

Murray has long said that he has an “idea” of when he would like to call time on his career, but he told the Today Programme that he may not announce what he is going to do in advance.

“When the time is right I will probably say something before I play my last match and my last tournament,” Murray said. “Whether I say anything months ahead of the time I don’t know.

“There’s no right way of finishing your career and everyone is different so what might be the right way for [Roger] Federer might not be the right way for [Rafael] Nadal, might not be the right way for [Novak] Djokovic.”

Wimbledon starts on 1 July, with the Paris Olympics taking place from 24 July. Murray won singles gold in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016, and is the only male player in history to win back-to-back Olympic titles.

Andy Murray was despondent after his defeat to Humbert (REUTERS)

“Hopefully I can get the chance to compete at another one,” Murray told the BBC.

As it stands, Murray is unlikely to qualify by ranking, but he could earn as spot in the draw as a previous Olympic champion.

In Dubai, Murray was aiming to win back-to-back matches for the first time this season, following his opening victory over Denis Shapovalov, but the in-form Humbert was in complete control of the contest as the Frenchman sealed a 6-2 6-4 win in 89 minutes.

Humbert, who is at a career-best ranking of 18, barely allowed Murray to win a point against serve, and the 36-year-old grew increasingly frustrated as he struggled to make any inroads on the returns.

“I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. Awful feeling,” Murray shouted on court, after he went the whole match without seeing a break point.

Murray has won just two of his last 10 matches, including six defeats in a row following on from the end of last year.

After a first-round exit at the Australian Open, Murray suggested he had “probably” played at the tournament for the final time.