PARIS — Andy Murray confirmed on Thursday that his singles career is over, although he will still bid farewell to tennis at Paris 2024 in the men’s doubles tournament alongside Dan Evans.
Murray and Evans have been drawn to face Japanese duo Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori, which will take place this weekend on the red clay of Roland Garros.
Murray’s career will end should he and Evans fail to make it through to the next round.
Meanwhile, Spanish duo Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal, who are unseeded for the men’s doubles, will begin against Argentina’s Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.
Murray underwent a spinal cyst procedure shortly before Wimbledon, which forced him to withdraw from singles at the All England club, and despite telling reporters on Wednesday his back was feeling better, he has made a similar decision at the Olympics.
“I’ve take the decision to withdraw from the singles to concentrate on the doubles with Dan,” Murray said in a statement on Thursday. “Really looking forward to getting started and representing GB one more time.”
Murray is a two-time Olympic gold medalist having won back-to-back titles at London 2012 and Rio 2016, with those titles bookending the most successful period of his career.
He also has a mixed doubles silver from London, where he partnered Laura Robson.
His appearance in Paris comes against the odds, with Murray revealing on Wednesday that initial scans on his back prompted doctors to suggest he would have to miss Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics.
“I was told when I had the scan on my back after Queens that I wouldn’t play at Wimbledon. I wouldn’t play at the Olympics either,” he told reporters.
“I got the opportunity to play at Wimbledon and physically I’m judging by how we’ve been doing in our practices that I’m more than capable of competing and doing very well in the doubles. In some ways you could say that’s lucky, but it’s been hard the last few months physically.”
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