Andy Murray makes retirement U-turn claim after admitting 'guilt' over leaving family behind
Andy Murray has admitted he has made a U-turn over his thoughts on retirement since hanging up his racket earlier this year.
The 37-year-old thought he would miss tennis but after leaving the court for the last time following his Paris Olympics appearance, he has not looked back.
The final few years of Murray's career was dogged by injuries, including a hip operation in 2019 and battling through the pain barrier on a regular basis.
But he has now admitted he is feeling much better in his body and mind, having also admitted he felt guilty leaving his family behind when he went on tour events.
Andy Murray has admitted he has changed his mind on retirement
PA
"Since I've stopped, I feel really free and have got lots of time to do whatever it is I want," Murray said.
"I can dedicate time to my children and have free time to play golf or go to the gym on my own terms.
"It is really nice and I didn't expect that. I was expecting to find retirement hard and be missing tennis a lot and wanting to get back on the tennis court on tour.
"So far it has been the complete opposite to what I was thinking."
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Murray is Britain's most successful tennis star since the turn of the century, winning three Grand Slam events when he landed the US Open in 2012 before winning Wimbledon twice in 2013 and 2016.
He also won gold at the Olympics in 2012 in London and four years later in Rio while the international competition also acted as his swansong event in tennis.
The Scotsman lost in the doubles quarter-finals to USA's Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, marking the end of his career.
Andy Murray retired after the Paris Olympics this summer
PA
"The thing that I always found difficult in recent years was that there was always a guilt associated with what I was doing," Murray added.
"If I was going away for a trip of like three to four weeks I would feel guilty leaving my children at home or being away from my wife for a long time with them, so missing the kids I found hard.
"But if I was at home with the kids then I was running around and spending a lot of my time on my feet after training.
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Andy Murray has admitted he felt guilty leaving his family behind
PA
"I was then thinking 'is this going to affect my training or performance the next day, should I have my feet up?' I found that stuff difficult over the last few years."
Murray might have turned his back on tennis but he has already taken up a new sport.
The Dunblane-born star has signed up for the next Pro-Am event with the BMW PGA Championship revealing their latest signing.
They wrote: "3x Grand Slam winner, Sir @andy_murray, will be swapping his racket for clubs, as he tees it up in the #BMWPGA Pro-Am."