Scottish superstar Andy Murray made his final competitive appearance at the Olympics, ending in a heart-wrenching loss to the United States. Playing alongside doubles partner Dan Evans, they were defeated by Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz.
Despite their valiant efforts, the United States advanced to the next stage of the Olympics. Both Andy and Dan were emotional but gracious in defeat, with Andy acknowledging the crowd as he left the clay court.
The emotional impact extended beyond the players, as Olympics presenter Clare Balding was also in tears following the match. After delivering a heartfelt tribute, she struggled to continue and turned to co-presenters Rebecca Adlington and Mark Foster for support, prompting Rebecca to comfort her.
Tributes poured in for the Scottish sportsman. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: “1 Davis Cup, 2 Olympic golds, and 3 Grand Slams. But more than that, thanks @andy_murray for two decades of phenomenal entertainment and sportsmanship. A true British great.” Presenter Greg James added: “It’s going to be awful having to watch tennis and not feel sick to your stomach, isn’t it? Thank you, Andy Murray – it’s been, at times, a complete [expletive] nightmare, but I wouldn’t change any of it. I don’t even want to debate it; he’s our greatest ever sportsperson.”
Murray, a double Olympic gold medalist, had announced that he would retire from professional tennis following the Olympics. “Arrived in Paris for my last ever tennis tournament,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Competing for Team GB has been by far the most memorable weeks of my career, and I’m extremely proud to get to do it one final time!”
His emotional final appearance at Wimbledon in June saw him play alongside his brother, Jamie, cheered on by his mum Judy, wife Kim, and their two eldest daughters. After the match, Sue Barker made an unexpected return to Wimbledon to interview Andy, playing an emotional clip of his sporting career that moved him to tears.
During the interview, Andy paid tribute to his daughters, jokingly telling Sue he wouldn’t keep her “too long” as it was “past their bedtimes.” When asked about his post-retirement plans, he humorously noted, “Well, they’ve been waking me and my wife up at 5 a.m. for the last eight years, so they’ll continue doing that.”
Though Andy is retiring from competitive tennis, he won’t be putting his racquet down entirely. He told HELLO! magazine, “I’ll definitely still be playing tennis. Just not on the Tour. I plan to play a lot more golf, and I’ll probably carry on working with my Strength and Conditioning coach, Matt Little, as I transition from being a full-time athlete and adjust to not needing to do quite so much. I put on weight during Covid when I wasn’t training as much and eating junk. I didn’t really like it, so I need to avoid that.”
