Judy Murray has alleged that her son Andy’s medical details were “leaked” to the media after the British tennis star underwent surgery on Saturday.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Murray, 37, had an operation on a spinal cyst on Saturday following his retirement at Queen’s last Wednesday.
A report in The Telegraph detailed the surgery, adding that the 37-year-old was consequently ruled out of what was set to be his final Wimbledon Championships, starting next Monday.
However, Murray’s camp have since insisted the former world No 1 has not withdrawn, saying in an official statement on Monday: “Following his surgery on Saturday, Andy is continuing to work with his medical team to confirm when he will return to the court. At this stage, no decisions have been made.”
A few hours later, Judy reposted The Telegraph article and said on Twitter/X: “When your private medical details are leaked to the media by someone you thought you could trust. So disappointing.
“And – FYI – not ruled out yet.”
Murray was set to play in the singles and doubles – alongside older brother Jamie – at Wimbledon, with the tournament potentially being his last before retirement.
The three-time Grand Slam winner and two-time Olympic gold medallist admitted prior to Queen’s that he was likely to call time on his career either after Wimbledon or the Paris Olympics, which would be his fifth Games.
Murray said after retiring at Queen’s: “I didn’t get the right side of my back treated after the French Open [a few weeks ago]. All tennis players have degenerative joints in the back but it’s all predominantly been left-sided for me for pretty much my whole career. I’ve never had too many issues with the right side.
“Maybe there’s something which can be done between now and then [Wimbledon] with my right side – I will have a scan tomorrow and re-check and see what can be done. I don’t know exactly what the problem is. I just know I haven’t experienced that before – the back pain today and yesterday. I don’t know what the procedure will be or what to expect.”
If the injury is as serious as reported – with The Telegraph reporting a six-week lay-off – then it also throws into doubt an appearance at Murray’s fifth Olympic Games in Paris at the end of July.
The latest surgery could bring to an end an illustrious career which includes three grand slam titles – the 2012 US Open and Wimbledon, 2013 and 2016 – two Olympic gold medals and 46 career titles.
He reached world No 1 for the first time after winning the end-of-season finals in London in 2016 and also led Great Britain to their first Davis Cup in 79 years in 2015.
Murray won his first tour-level match in nearly three months last Tuesday, victorious in his 1,000th tour contest in three sets against Alexei Popyrin after one hour and 51 minutes, and he showed no clear signs of discomfort afterwards.
Yet it was a different matter 24 hours later and Murray’s pain was clear from the first point, when he did not even attempt to move into position for a routine backhand after a Thompson return.
He inevitably called it a day when 4-1 down in the first set, marking his first retirement from a match in 11 years. Murray then waved to the 10,000-capacity Queen’s crowd, departing a tournament that he has won five times.
“I’ve been struggling with my back for a while,” he added on Wednesday. “I had pain in my right leg, no motor control, no coordination. And yeah, couldn’t move.
“My back has been a problem for quite a while, it’s been sore in the build-up to the tournament and was pretty sore in my match yesterday and sore through today – but I was able to manage it. It was not comfortable playing, but I was able to manage it.
“During my pre-match warm-up, I was pretty uncomfortable and then I walked up the stairs to go out on court and didn’t have normal strength in my right leg, not a usual feeling. The first two balls I hit in the warm-up, my right leg was so uncoordinated. My leg was not working properly.
“I wish I hadn’t gone on court, to be honest. I didn’t realise until I was walking to go on court. In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t gone on there. It was pretty awkward for everyone, nothing I can do.”