Three-time Grand Slam singles champion reveals Wimbledon, retirement plans

Three-time Grand Slam singles champion Andy Murray won his most recent major at Wimbledon in 2016.

Now, eight years later, the 37-year-old is attempting to make a return to the All England Club one final time.

Murray had spinal surgery on Saturday (a procedure that usually takes six weeks to recover from) but explained that he is still hoping to play at this summer's Wimbledon championships. From there, if he's healthy enough to play at both Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics, Murray would likely retire.

Though he never racked up the number of accolades as some of his other elite counterparts, Murray put himself into the conversation of the "Big Four" during his prime years. He began his career when both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were arguably the top two men's tennis players in the world and was later joined by Novak Djokovic.

Murray earned his first Grand Slam singles crown at the 2012 U.S. Open before taking the title at Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016. He also made the Australian Open and French Open finals in 2016 but fell to Djokovic both times. Murray lost in four other finals "down under" in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2015, losing to Federer in his first appearance and Djokovic the other three times.

One of Murray's most epic victories came during the second round of the 2023 Australian Open, when he defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis in a stunning five-set comeback 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-5.

The match was the longest in Murray's career at five hours and 45 minutes and ended at 4:05 a.m. local time in Melbourne, just eight minutes shy of the tournament record for longest contest.

The record of five hours and 53 minutes was set during the 2012 final between Djokovic and Nadal.

The draw for Wimbledon takes place on Friday, with the tournament starting on Monday.