Andy Murray the most recent of the Big 4 to follow worrying trend

First, Rafael Nadal suffered an injury to begin 2024 which forced him to play inconsistently. After withdrawing from several tournaments, he was able to play at the French Open, and while he played well, he lost in the first round to Alexander Zverev. Nadal is now skipping Wimbledon to stay healthy enough to play at the Olympics.

Next, Novak Djokovic struggled with form and fitness at the beginning of the year. This included not reaching a final at any event which is a bit shocking since the Serb has made a habit of winning in January's Australian Open in most years. Djokovic, unfortunately, tore his meniscus at the French Open and had to withdraw. He still seemingly thinks he will play at Wimbledon, but in what form?

Now, Andy Murray will miss, according to the Telegraph, Wimbledon after being forced to retire at the Cinch Championships due to an issue with his back (he has since had surgery for a spinal cyst, and the recovery period is expected to be six weeks). The problem was so bad at the start of his second-round match that he lost coordination and struggled with movement, especially as his back appeared to have been affecting his right leg as well.

Andy Murray's availability for Wimbledon in serious doubt

Murray has had a lot of various injuries over the last half-decade and this has greatly affected his performance. The Brit has not won a title since 2019, and he often only wins a match or two - at most - at any tournament. His love of playing keeps him going, but his body appears to want to quit.

In his post-match press conference, Murray addressed how hard the sport can be on one's joints which does not lessen with time. The only way to improve joint issues is to take quite a bit of time away from tennis, but at 37 years old, Murray cannot afford to take time off.

Murray told reporters, "I have been struggling with my back for a while. Then, yeah, I had loss of power in my right leg. So loss of motor control, had no coordination. Yeah, couldn’t move...There is nothing I could do, and then there is part of you that wants to go out there and see if it gets better, you know, and maybe feel better with a bit of treatment or something, but that wasn’t the case."

Murray normally finds a way to manage his pain and attempts to compete. Surgery on a spinal cust is too much, though. He is also in doubt for the Olympics. At Wimbledon now, Nadal is out, Djokovic might play but in high-end fitness, and Murray is out.

When asked about his chances to play the grass-court major that he has won twice, Murray answered, "I wouldn’t know. Like all tennis players, we have degenerative sort of joints and stuff in the back...I will get scans tomorrow and get it rechecked and see if there’s anything that can be done."

Now we know, though. Andy Murray will miss Wimbledon. Potentially only one of the Big 4 will participate at the grass-court major. An era is ending for tennis.

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