Andy Murray Undergoes Hip Resurfacing Surgery After Australian Open

Rory Marsden @@roomarsdenFeatured ColumnistJanuary 29, 2019

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Andy Murray underwent hip resurfacing surgery in London on Monday, two-and-a-half weeks on from announcing his plans to retire from tennis.

In a post on Instagram on Tuesday, the former world No. 1 explained:

"I underwent a hip resurfacing surgery in London yesterday morning...feeling a bit battered and bruised just now but hopefully that will be the end of my hip pain. I now have a metal hip."

David Law @DavidLawTennis
Andy Murray has had his hip surgery. https://t.co/0fVDAEBGUE

ITF @ITF_Tennis
Hip resurfacing surgery: complete All the best with the recovery, @andy_murray 💪 📸 Andy Murray/ Instagram https://t.co/b1AHs14pM1

Ahead of the 2019 Australian Open, Murray's career looked to be all but over.

In an emotional press conference, the Scot told reporters he wanted to "get through this [pain] until Wimbledon" so he could retire at his home tournament, but he admitted the Australian Open could be his final act in a glittering career.

After losing a remarkable five-set first-round match to Roberto Bautista Agut in Melbourne, though, the three-time Grand Slam winner hinted he could return:

BBC Tennis @bbctennis
Andy Murray: "Maybe I'll see you again". #AusOpen #bbctennis https://t.co/RTfCq00luW

Gaspar Ribeiro Lança @gasparlanca
Complete quote from Andy Murray: "Maybe I'll see you again, I'll do everything possible to try. If I want to go again I'll need to have a big operation, which there's no guarantee I'll be able to come back from anyway but I'll give it my best shot."

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It will surely be a race against time for Murray, 31, to recover from his latest surgery and be fit for 2019's Wimbledon, which begins on July 1.

BBC Sport's Russell Fuller gave his assessment of Murray's potential return to the game:

Russell Fuller @russellcfuller
So Andy Murray now has a metal hip: he says he’s feeling a bit battered and bruised, but will hopefully be pain free in future. For the record, Bob Bryan (doubles player) had the same op and was playing again 5 months later.

Russell Fuller @russellcfuller
Murray said very clearly in Melbourne you do not have this operation & return to top flight singles. I’m sure there’s a small part of him that hasn’t abandoned all hope, but it’s first and foremost about boosting quality of life. And maybe squeezing in a Wimbledon farewell.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist has been struggling for his best tennis for some time.

He won his second Wimbledon title in July 2016 and became world No. 1 for the first time later that year, but he subsequently missed four Grand Slams in a row between the 2017 U.S. Open and 2018 Wimbledon.

A second-round exit at 2018's U.S. Open and the first-round Melbourne loss to Bautista Agut showed Murray was nowhere near his best.

And despite the latest surgery, it seems unlikely he will ever return to the upper echelons of the game.