Wimbledon 2024: Andy Murray withdraws from singles, David Goffin gets entry into main draw

Britain’s Andy Murray has decided not to compete in the men’s singles category at the ongoing Wimbledon and will only play in the men’s doubles, alongside his brother Jamie Murray.

Lucky loser David Goffin will take Andy Murray’s place in the main draw.

Andy, a two-time Wimbledon title holder, has withdrawn hours before his first round match as he felt he hasn’t recovered completely from a surgery to remove a cyst from his spinal cord.

The Britain player has confirmed that the ongoing edition of the Wimbledon will be his last appearance at the showpiece event and he is expected to hang his boots at the end of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The 37-year-old’s team management, in a message to the media and the tournament officials, confirmed the development. “Unfortunately, despite working incredibly hard on his recovery since his operation just over a week ago, Andy has taken the very difficult decision not to play the singles this year. As you can imagine, he is extremely disappointed but has confirmed that he will be playing in the doubles with Jamie and looks forward to competing at Wimbledon for the last time,” the statement read.

Andy underwent a surgery on June 22 to remove a cyst from his spinal cord. He has, however, had his share of injuries in recent years and a hip injury needed two surgeries to get him back in shape.

Andy’s latest spinal cord issue came up during his second-round match at the Queen’s Club tournament in London last month. He had trouble walking and medical diagnosis later revealed that a cyst was compressing a nerve in his back and leaving his right leg numb.

The 37-year-old won the Wimbledon title in 2013 and 2016. Murray lost in the first round of the French Open in May.

Meanwhile, Belgium’s David Goffin, a two-time quarterfinalist at the Wimbledon, will take on Czechia’s Tomas Machac in the opening round. Ranked 83 in the world, Goffin lost 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 to Italy’s Mattia Bellucci in the final qualifying round.

Goffin’s best result at Wimbledon was a quarterfinal appearance in the 2019 and 2022 editions of the grass court Grand Slam.