Andy Murray's final Olympic dance: Preparing for a grand farewell in Paris after a gracious career on and off the court
Paris 2024 will be the final tournament in the brilliant career of Andy Murray, one of the greatest tennis players in British history.
Though he has had to withdraw from the men’s singles competition, the former world number one will compete in his fourth Olympic Games in the men’s doubles at the Stade Roland Garros.
He teams up with Dan Evans as they face Japan’s Nishikori Kai and Daniel Taro in the first round on Sunday (28 July), with the daunting reality that every game could be Murray’s last as a professional tennis player.
Put simply, tennis is losing one of its greatest assets.
Andy Murray, Britain’s greatest tennis player of the Open Era
Murray has enjoyed a decorated career, hampered by cruel injuries but elevated by glory. He is the only man to win two Olympic men’s singles gold medals, becoming the first Brit in 92 years – the first in the Open Era - to win Olympic gold with his emotional victory at London 2012.
After four Grand Slam final defeats, he claimed his first Grand Slam title that same year in a five-set thriller against Novak Djokovic at the US Open.
The following year, Murray wrote more British tennis history. He won the 2013 Wimbledon men’s singles title - once again defeating Djokovic – the first British male to do so since 1936.
Murray’s third and final Grand Slam three years later cemented his legend in south-west London, winning his second Wimbledon title in straight sets over Milos Raonic.
As with most of the major sporting milestones in his career, he waited for one then two came at once in the same year. Murray successfully defended his Olympic singles gold at Rio 2016, something no man or woman has achieved in the history of the Olympics.
In sporting terms, Murray is one of the greatest British tennis players ever, one of the best of his generation if not of all time.
Andy Murray, an advocate for equality with an inspiring legacy
As a tennis player, Murray is one of the undisputed great, and he always carried himself with grace and demeanour.
It will not just be a legacy of his tennis talent, but for what he represented in Scotland and Great Britain as a whole. He has always shown himself in an authentic way, with genuine respect and class of a high level that is rare to come by.
Perhaps most admirable of Murray is his fight for gender equality in tennis and beyond.
When he won gold at Rio 2016, a reporter praised him for becoming “the first person to ever win two Olympic tennis gold medals”. Murray corrected and reminded the reporter that sisters Serena Williams and Venus Williams had in fact won four gold medals each.
At a Wimbledon press conference the following year, a journalist stated that a tennis player had become "the first US player to reach a major semi-final since 2009". Murray corrected the reporter by clarifying, “male player”, so as not to discredit his female counterparts who had achieved the very feat.
That is what Murray has consistently done throughout his career, something that deserves plaudits and that should be followed by everyone in sport. He has been a model example, both as a tennis player and as a person.
When Murray walks out onto the Court Suzanne-Lenglen at Roland Garros, it may well be his last dance in the City of Lights. But while he is to retire from tennis at the end of Paris 2024, his legacy will mean that we will always celebrate the name Andy Murray.