Andy Murray in tears following defeat to United States at the Olympics
Andy Murray has made his final competitive appearance following a heart-breaking loss to the United States in the Olympics.
Andy was playing with doubles partner Dan Evans when they lost to Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz. The pair fought valiantly, but ultimately the United States triumphed, moving onto the next stage of the Olympics. Following the match, both Andy and Dan were emotional, but gracious in defeat, Andy played to the crowd as he left the clay court.
It wasn't just Andy who was emotional, as Olympics presenter, Clare Balding, was also in tears following the match. After a gushing tribute, silence fell on the broadcasting unit, and Clare's voice broke as she gestured to co-presenter Rebecca Adlington and Mark Foster: "You better say something," prompting Rebecca to comfort the presenter.
Many paid tribute to the Scottish sportsman, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer saying: "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.
The Scottish tennis champion, who is a double Olympic gold medallist, had confirmed that he would retire from professional tennis following his Olympics appearance.
"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!"
The tennis ace had an emotional final appearance at Wimbledon at the end of June, where he played alongside his brother, Jamie, and was cheered on by mum Judy, wife Kim and the couple's two eldest daughters.
Following the conclusion of the match, the double Wimbledon champion was surprised by Sue Barker, who made an unexpected return to Wimbledon to interview the star player. An emotional clip of his sporting career was also played, moving Andy to tears.
During an interview with Sue, Andy paid tribute to his daughters who supported him at the match, joking he wouldn't keep the presenter "too long" as it was "past their bedtimes".
Andy was then grilled on what his children might have in store for their father as he steps into retirement, prompting the tennis legend to tease: "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."
Although the Scotsman has left competitive tennis, he won't be permanently putting his racquet down, exclusively telling HELLO!: "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 transfer from being a full-time athlete and adjusting 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."
