Murray ruled out of Wimbledon after back operation

Twice champion Andy Murray will miss Wimbledon after having back surgery, the ATP announced on Sunday.

"After an operation on a spinal cyst, Andy Murray is sadly out of Wimbledon," the ATP said on social media platform X. "Rest up and recover Andy, we'll miss seeing you there."

Following a victory over Alexei Popyrin at the Queen's Club Championships in his 1,000th tour-level singles contest, Murray withdrew due to the injury while trailing 4-1 in the first set of his second-round match with Jordan Thompson on Wednesday.

The ongoing issue was aggravated by Murray's participation in the French Open and leaves the former world number one out of Wimbledon where he has won two of his three Grand Slam titles.

Murray, 37, breathed new life into his career after having hip resurfacing surgery in 2019 but has struggled to make the latter stages of the top tournaments and recently had to deal with an ankle injury sustained at the Miami Open in March.

The Scottish double Olympic gold medallist had previously said that he was unlikely to continue playing next season and it would be a fitting end to his glittering career if he bowed out at the All England Club or the Paris Games.

Wimbledon runs from July 1-14 while the tennis competition at the Olympics will begin on July 27.