Former world No.1 Andy Murray will make his grand slam singles comeback at the Australian Open in January 2020, following hip surgery.
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley announced that three-time grand slam champion Andy Murray will be returning to the grand slam singles after undergoing a career-saving hip surgery in January. Prior to surgery, Murray admitted that he had been playing in considerable pain for some time and was considering retirement.
Murray, who was once considered part of the Big Four in tennis, alongside Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, started competing professionally again in June but only in doubles. At the China Open, he reached his first Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour singles quarterfinal in over a year, before falling to eventual tournament champion Dominic Thiem.
He recently defeated Juan Ignacio Londero at the Shanghai Masters to record his first Masters 1000 win in over two years. Tiley said that the five-time Australian Open runner-up will return to the tournament with a protected ranking of No. 2.
His first singles match return was at the Cincinnati Masters in August, where he lost straight sets in the first round to French tennis player Richard Gasquet. After the defeat, he announced that he would not be playing singles in the US Open.
He then won his first singles match post-surgery at the Rafa Nadal Open on the second-tier Challenger Tour.
In January 2018, Murray underwent his first hip surgery but struggled to return to form, resulting in the withdrawal from several tournaments over the course of the year to focus on rehabbing.
At a press conference in January 2019, Murray emotionally announced that he is considering retirement due to his problematic hip. He said: “I can still play to a level — not a level I’m happy playing at. But also, it’s not just that. The pain is too much really. I don’t want to continue playing that way. I tried pretty much everything that I could to get it right — that hasn’t worked.”
