Andy Murray may retire after Australian Open due to pain from hip surgery

AFP

A dejected Andy Murray has told reporters on Friday that next week's Australian Open may be his last tournament.

Fighting back tears, the three-time Grand Slam winner said while he would like to play his final match at the All England Tennis Club this year at Wimbledon, the ongoing pain from his injured hip has become too much to bear.

"I spoke to my team and I told them that I can't keep doing this," Murray said.

"I needed to have an end point because I was just playing with no idea when the pain was going to stop."

"I said to my team 'I think I can get through this until Wimbledon' ... that's where I would like to stop playing. But I'm also not certain I'm able to do that."

A former world No. 1, the 31-year-old has fallen to 230th in the rankings after hip surgery in 2018.

"I'm not feeling good. I've obviously been struggling for a long time," Murray said.

"I've been in a lot of pain for probably about 20 months now."

Despite the pain, the two-time Olympic gold medalist confirmed he will compete in the upcoming Australian Open.

"I can still play to a level, [although] not a level that I'm happy playing at. But it's not just that, the pain is too much really. I don't want to continue playing that way. I've tried pretty much everything to get it right and that hasn't worked."

Murray added that even menial tasks like putting on his shoes and socks had now become excruciating.

"I've talked a lot -- way too much -- about my hip. Everyone that I bump into, that's all I talk about and it's pretty draining," he said.

"I've spoken a number of times to psychologists about it but nothing helps because you're in lots and lots of pain You can't do what is that you want to do and you love doing. It's just not fun -- not enjoyable doing it anymore," he added.