MY ACCOUNT
Andy Murray has decided to skip the entire clay court season, including the French Open, as he feels the surface aggravated “issues” in the past.
Former world number one Murray has endured a torrid time with injuries in the past few years, but he has featured more regularly since the second half of last season.
While he only made it as far as the second round at last month’s Australian Open, his preparation for the year’s opening grand slam saw him reach a first final on the ATP Tour since October 2019.
He lost to Aslan Karatsev in the decider of the Sydney Classic, going down 6-3 6-3, but the Scot’s run to the final provided evidence he still has plenty to offer.
Murray will not be playing in the next grand slam, though.
The eyes of the tennis world will be on Roland Garros in late May and early June, but Murray is opting to miss that and every other event on clay for fear of worsening his condition, with Wimbledon scheduled to begin on June 27.
“Right now, I am not planning on playing through the clay,” the three-time grand slam winner said.
“The past couple of years, the clay has made issues worse; last year I had some issues at the beginning of the year, the clay didn’t help, so I’ve spoken to my team about that and this year while I feel good and healthy, I don’t want to take that risk.
“It’s not that I wouldn’t potentially play on clay in the future. Last year I almost missed Wimbledon, was close to not playing the grass season. I’m not planning on playing the clay. I will still try to compete a bit during that period, I won’t do nothing, that’s my plan just now.
“I had a busy end of last year and the next couple of months I won’t take any risks and hopefully get a good build up to the grass season.”
Murray parted ways with long-term coach Jamie Delgado in December and then decided against making Jan de Witt a permanent member of his team following a trial period leading up to and through the Australian Open.
The 34-year-old is now once again working with Dani Vallverdu, Stan Wawrinka’s coach, having teamed up with him between 2010 and 2014.
But Murray accepts the situation is far from ideal, with Vallverdu only available while Wawrinka continues his rehabilitation from a foot injury that has kept him out since March last year.
“It’s not been easy to find someone,” Murray added.
“Obviously, Stan Wawrinka has been rehabbing for quite a long time and is hopefully coming back to the tour, but he agreed for Dani to come and work with me for a few weeks over the next month or so, which is great for me in the short term, but still trying to find a longer-term solution.
“It’s not that straightforward, I’m not as in demand as a few years ago. Ultimately, I want it to be the right person. I’m aware there’s no perfect setup, but medium, longer term I want some stability and will try and get that in the next few weeks.”
