Andy Murray warns he is 'big injury' away from retirement

Tuesday, 20 December 2022 at 22:00

Updated at Tuesday, 20 December 2022 at 19:44

byTom Grant

Andy Murray has warned his fans that he is one "big injury" away from being forced to retire.

The Scot has battled back from TWO hip surgeries in two years to climb back into the ATP top 50 in 2022 and will compete in a home event this week as his Scotland team face England in Battle of the Brits in Aberdeen.

The 35-year-old admits he was disappointed with his season over the last 12 months - when he won 26 of his 45 singles matches - but insisted he can still mix it with the best that men's tennis can offer during the next campaign.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday's meeting with rising star Jack Draper, Murray said: "If my body is in good shape and I'm still able to compete consistently, I'll keep playing."

However, the three-time Grand Slam did issue a word of caution, highlighting he isn't as young as he used to be.

"I can't look so far in advance with the age I'm at and with the issues I've had. If I was to have a big injury, I probably wouldn't try to come back from that," Murray added.

The former World No.1 recently started working with former coach Ivan Lendl again, and enjoyed a training block in Florida in recently - a stint he hopes will improve his performances at the majors next year, starting at next months Australian Open.

Murray continued: "I spent three weeks in Florida, getting my body right and getting some work done on my game and it went really well.

"I'm certainly in better shape than I was. A lot of work was done in the gym, trying to build up my endurance and my stamina a bit and I'm hoping that's going to help me next year.

"I wasn't happy with how last season went - certainly the last six months or so from a physical perspective - but my ranking still went from 125 to 50 in a year. I'm hoping that this year, with the work I've done, things will continue to improve and I'll still be motivated to get out there and compete."