Tennis-Murray to team up with Raducanu in Wimbledon mixed doubles

By Shrivathsa Sridhar

LONDON (Reuters) -Andy Murray will team up with fellow Briton Emma Raducanu in the Wimbledon mixed doubles tournament after the pair were awarded a wildcard, organisers said on Wednesday.

Twice singles champion Murray, 37, is playing in his final Wimbledon but pulled out of his singles opener against Czech Tomas Machac on Tuesday due to a back problem.

Murray is also competing in the men's doubles with his brother Jamie and they face Australians Rinky Hijikata and John Peers in the first round on Thursday.

Former U.S. Open champion Raducanu, 21, beat Renata Zarazua in her singles opener and will face Elise Mertens later on Wednesday.

Murray last played in the grasscourt Grand Slam's mixed doubles tournament in 2019 when he teamed up with American Serena Williams and they reached the third round.

Three-times Grand Slam champion Murray, who resurrected his career after having hip-resurfacing surgery in 2019, previously said that he was unlikely to continue his career beyond this year and could bow out at the Olympics in Paris.

The tennis competition at the Games starts on July 27.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar, editing by Ed Osmond)