“Retirement has been the complete opposite to what I was thinking” – Andy Murray

The Brit says he has not been missing tennis a lot since his retirement last month

Andy Murray Image Credit: Valentina Claret / Panoramic

September 10, 2024

Three-time Grand Slam champion and former world No 1 Andy Murray has said that he does not miss tennis a lot since retiring from the sport last month. The Brit played his last match at the Paris Olympics and in a new interview with the BBC, Murray said he thought retirement would be much harder than it actually is.

“Since I’ve stopped, I feel really free and have got lots of time to do whatever it is I want,” Murray said in an interview to BBC Radio 4. “I can dedicate time to my children and have free time to play golf or go to the gym on my own terms. It is really nice and I didn’t expect that. I was expecting to find retirement hard and be missing tennis a lot and wanting to get back on the tennis court on tour. So far it has been the complete opposite to what I was thinking.”

My perception was I was feeling I was being attacked even when I was doing really well, and that was pretty hard.
Andy Murray on dealing with the expectations on his shoulders

Murray also admitted that during his career he found it difficult to deal with the expectations on his shoulders as British hopes rested on him for several years. The 37-year-old ended a Grand Slam drought in men’s singles that spanned more than seven decades by winning the US Open in 2012.

“It was really hard for me at times, reaching the final at Wimbledon and being criticised for your work or feeling you are not good enough,” Murray said. “Which I think is wrong and I don’t know if that would be the case in every country. It might have not been the case, but my perception was I was feeling I was being attacked even when I was doing really well, and that was pretty hard.”