Andy Murray retirement: The highs and lows in triumphant career of Britain’s greatest ever tennis player

Murray plans to retire after Wimbledon in the summer, but could be forced to call it quits much sooner if a hip injury gets

Andy Murray has revealed that his career is drawing to a close after he admitted he no longer wants to play through the pain of a chronic hip problem.

At an emotional press conference ahead of the Australian Open, the Scot revealed next week's first-round match against Roberto Bautista Agut could be his last, although he is hoping to retire after Wimbledon.

Murray missed most of the 2018 season after undergoing surgery on a long-standing hip injury, but the issue has not gone away and he revealed on Friday that not only is it affecting his tennis, it is also causing him pain through every-day tasks such as putting his socks and shoes on.

The 31-year-old hopes to be able to grace Wimbledon one last time, scene of his two greatest triumphs as he won the title in front of the British fans in 2013 and 2016, but he admitted that he may not be fit enough to make it that far and could bow out of the sport this month.

Here, we look at the highs and lows of a rollercoaster career.

Highs

Summer of 2012

Only a month after his tearful fourth grand slam final loss to Roger Federer at Wimbledon, Murray gained redemption in spectacular fashion by emphatically defeating the Swiss to claim Olympic gold on Centre Court. He followed it up at the US Open by ending the long wait for a British male grand slam singles champion with a dramatic five-set victory over Novak Djokovic.

First Wimbledon

The victory that will always be top of the pile came on a glorious summer's day at SW19. Murray faced Djokovic again in front of an expectant crowd on Centre Court and rode the wave to finally consign Fred Perry to history, surviving a nerve-jangling final game.

Davis Cup glory

Wimbledon was Murray's crowning individual glory but arguably his most extraordinary accomplishment was winning the Davis Cup for Britain almost single-handed. His brother Jamie and James Ward chipped in but Murray won an unprecedented 11 out of 12 rubbers across four ties.

Murray almost single-handedly won the Davis Cup in 2015 (Getty)

2016 Wimbledon and Olympics

After reuniting with Ivan Lendl, Murray swept to his third slam title at Wimbledon, this time beating Milos Raonic. And a month later he made some history for himself, overcoming Juan Martin Del Potro in Rio to become the first tennis player to successfully defend an Olympic singles title.

World number one

The season of Murray's career had a golden ending when a run of five straight tournament victories, culminating in victory at the ATP Finals in London, carried him to the world number one ranking.

The Briton finished 2017 as the world No 1 (Getty)

Lows

Knee trouble

Murray feared his career might be over before it began when knee pain interrupted his training in Spain at the age of 16. He was diagnosed with a bipartite patella but was able to manage it effectively.

Anyone but England

Teenage joshing with Tim Henman during an interview in 2006 came back to haunt Murray when his joke that he would be supporting 'anyone but England' at that summer's football World Cup was widely publicised and damaged his public image and his relationship with the press for several years.

Murray landed himself in hot water for his comments in 2006 (Getty)

Back surgery

Murray's first time under the knife came in 2013, when he decided a troublesome back problem needed to be fixed by surgery. The Scot was only sidelined for three months but it took him a long time to fully recover.

Lendl split

While Murray was working his way back in 2014, he was dealt a major body blow when mentor Lendl decided he no longer wanted to continue their relationship. Their reunion in 2016 helped the Scot win more of the sport's biggest prizes.

Injuries proved to be the beginning of the end for Murray (Getty)

Hip pain

The low that has overshadowed all the rest began after the French Open in 2017, when Murray found he was no longer able to recover from chronic hip pain that he had been managing. Despite surgery and long periods of recovery and rehabilitation, the 31-year-old has not found a solution.

PA