Andy Murray Withdraws From 2024 Italian Open In Rome Despite Return To Practice

Sunday, 05 May 2024 at 00:20

byZachary Wimer

Andy Murray won't be playing at the 2024 Italian Open in Rome, even though he returned to practicing on clay fairly recently.

At this time last year, Murray was playing on clay in Aix en Provence, France. The Brit would go all the way to win the trophy at the ATP Challenger event, but that's not the case this year, as he's working his way back from injury.

It happened at the Miami Open, which was the best event he played this year, so it came at a really bad time. The year, in general, has been bad for the Brit, as he failed to really find his best tennis more than a couple of times, and the results reflect that.

He then dropped the retirement news, so we're basically witnessing the final moments of his legendary career. The initial prognosis wasn't that great, as Murray was supposed to miss quite a while after the most recent injury, but he made a shocking return to the courts recently.

What's even more impressive is that it was on clay, which some took as a confirmation of his intention to play at the Roland Garros, or possibly the Olympics, which are played on the same court.

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However, his comeback certainly won't happen in Rome, as the Brit withdrew his name from the entry list. Roland Garros is likely the target, but that also remains to be seen because, in previous years, he skipped that over in favor of some grass tennis, with Wimbledon, which is his home major, as the most frequent target.

Since this is his final year, Murray should want to play one more time in Paris. Healing ankle injuries is tough, and setbacks are common. With his comeback date unknown, the only thing we know is that it won't happen at the Italian Open.