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Tennis legend Andy Murray shared a humorous tweet after emotionally announcing his retirement as his Olympic campaign finally came to an end.
Murray and Dan Evans were comprehensively defeated 6-2, 6-4 by USA’s Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals of the Paris 2024 men’s doubles competition on Thursday.
But while the pair looked incredibly strong heading into their match, there was always a sense that this would be the end of the road for Murray, one of Great Britain’s most decorated athletes of all time.
Several hours removed from his last ever outing, though, the 37-year-old took to Twitter/X and showed his deadpan humour, joking: “Never even liked tennis anyway.”
The tongue-in-cheek comment was accompanied by a slight alteration to his bio, which now reads: “I played tennis” whereas before, it read: “I play tennis.”
Away from social media, the Scot has been brutally honest about his battles with injuries which, in recent years, have largely impeded his performances on the court.
But across his astonishing 19-year career, Murray has been widely celebrated for his remarkable victories at Wimbledon – winning grand slam singles titles in 2013 and 2016 – coupled with a huge victory at the US Open in 2012.
The Briton’s success at the Olympics holds a great deal of weight too, as he secured gold medals at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Following yesterday’s match, Murray expressed that, in his mind, the decision to retire has arrived at the right time, knowing that, when considering his recent back surgery, there could have been a vastly different outcome.
“I’m glad that I got to go out here at the Olympics and finish on my terms, because at times in the last few years, that wasn’t a certainty,” he told BBC Sport immediately after his Olympic exit.
“And even a few months ago, I was told when I first went to have my scan of my back and the issue that I had with it, I was told that I wouldn’t be playing at the Olympics and I wouldn’t be playing at Wimbledon.
“So I feel also lucky that I got that opportunity to play here and have some great matches, create amazing memories and, yeah, I feel good.”
