February 06, (THEWILL) – Andy Murray will forgo the French Open and the entire clay court season in order to plan his schedule for the remainder of 2022 while his search for a new coach continues by the side.
The Scot will return to action in Rotterdam next week for the first time since his second-round exit at the Australian Open, and he is looking ahead to the rest of the year.
Murray has struggled with injury after undergoing hip surgery in 2019, but he has recently been able to stay on the court, with a solid second half of 2021 fueling hopes of a comeback to title contention in 2022.
The 34-year-old’s only appearance at the French Open in the last four years was in 2020, but he has not ruled out a future comeback to Roland Garros.
On Sunday, the Brit said: “Right now I am not planning on playing through the clay. The past couple of years, the clay has made issues worse; last year I had some issues at the beginning of the year, the clay didn’t help, so I’ve spoken to my team about that and this year while I feel good and healthy, I don’t want to take that risk.
“It’s not that I wouldn’t potentially play on clay in the future. Last year I almost missed Wimbledon, I was close to not playing the grass season, I’m not planning on playing the clay. I will still try to compete a bit during that period, I won’t do nothing, that’s my plan just now.
“I had a busy end of last year and in the next couple of months I won’t take any risks and hopefully get a good build up to the grass season.”
Murray is back in Holland, where he is working with Dani Vallverdu after a trial stint with Jan De Witt ended following Melbourne.
Vallverdu, who is available until Stan Wawrinka recovers his fitness, will join Murray in Rotterdam on Sunday, but the Scot understands he will have to find elsewhere in the long run to solve his coaching issue.
“It’s not been easy to find someone,” he said.
“Obviously, Stan Warwinka has been rehabbing for quite a long time and is hopefully coming back to the tour, but he agreed for Dani to come and work with me for a few weeks over the next month or so which is great for me in the short term, but still trying to find a longer-term solution.
“It’s not that straightforward, I’m not as in demand as a few years ago. Ultimately, I want it to be the right person. I’m aware there’s no perfect setup, but in the medium, longer term I want some stability and will try and get that in the next few weeks.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
