Murray’s Wimbledon career over as Raducanu pulls out of doubles
Andy Murray’s Wimbledon career is over after Emma Raducanu pulled out of their planned appearance in the mixed doubles.
Former world number one Murray, 37, was due to play alongside his fellow Briton on Saturday evening at the All England Club.
Raducanu, 21, said she has “some stiffness” in her right wrist.
She moved into the fourth round of the women’s singles with a dominant two-set win over Greek ninth seed Maria Sakkari on Friday.
“I have decided to make the very tough decision to withdraw from the mixed doubles,” she said.
“I’m disappointed as I was really looking forward to playing with Andy but I’ve got to take care.”
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Murray, a two-time singles champion at Wimbledon, was playing at SW19 for the last time before retiring later this year.
The Scot is said to be “disappointed” that he is unable to play alongside 2021 US Open champion Raducanu, who missed Wimbledon last year after having surgery on both wrists.
Murray’s mother Judy, in response to a post on X from television presenter Marcus Buckland describing Raducanu’s decision as “astonishing”, wrote: “Yes, astonishing.”
He was not permitted to find a replacement partner for Raducanu under tournament rules because the draw had already been made.
Murray and Raducanu, who were set to play China’s Zhang Shuai and El Salvador’s Marcelo Arevalo, have been replaced by an alternate pairing.
It means Murray made his final appearance on Thursday when he lost alongside older brother Jamie in the men’s doubles.
A video montage of Murray’s career was played on the Centre Court big screen after the match, leaving the former world number one in tears as thousands of fans showed their appreciation.
Murray pulled out of the singles on Tuesday as he continues to recover from a back operation on 22 June.
The three-time major champion is planning to retire later this year, with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games set to be his final event.
‘Schedule put Raducanu in very awkward position’ – analysis
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller at Wimbledon
Saturday’s schedule played a major part in Emma Raducanu’s decision.
Being asked to play in the fourth match of the day on Court One is the same as being asked to play in a night session.
And given this Grand Slam is a predominantly daytime event, you can understand why a player would not want to spend all evening on site with a fourth-round singles match the following day.
The schedule put Raducanu in a very awkward position, and has led to a decision which will be very disappointing for Murray and everyone looking forward to what would have been a fun finale to his Wimbledon career.
This was no ordinary mixed doubles pairing, although players do regularly prioritise singles over doubles.
And there can be no change of partner once the draw is made. So instead of Murray teaming up with another British player, American alternates Rajeev Ram and Katie Volynets come into the draw.