Andy Murray: will former British number one play US Open 2023? Abdominal injury explained

Andy Murray was forced to retire from the Canadian Open due to suffering an abdominal injury. The former British number one was through to the last 16 of the tournament and with the US Open taking place in just over two weeks’ time, it is not yet known whether he will be able to compete.

The 36-year-old three-time Canadian Open winner was due to face the Italian seventh seed Jannik Sinner after beating Lorenzo Sonego and Max Purcell in the first and second rounds respectively.

When addressing the fans in Toronto, Andy Murray said: “I feel like I’ve let you down. This might be my last time playing here as well. So to finish like this feels rubbish.”

In a statement that he then made afterwards, Murray added he had suffered from a “very similar issue” during a tournament in Stuttgart last year before Wimbledon which forced him to miss the Queen’s Club Championships.

The three-time Grand Slam winner said: “It took me about 10 to 12 days before I was feeling good again. This is not as bad but obviously the danger if you compete and play on it is you make it worse. So i’ll need to see how it develops over the coming days and hopefuly feel better in a few days. I’m really sorry, thank you.”

Murray’s latest injury will therefore hamper preparations for the next Grand Slam of the year which takes place at Flushing Meadows at the end of August. The US Open begins on Monday 28 August in New York and will see Carlos Alcaraz defend his title.

Murray is not the only player at risk of missing out on the fourth Major in 2023 as Nick Kygrios, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist, announced he will miss out through injury. This is now the fourth major of the year the Australian star has missed out after missing the Australian Open through a knee injury; the French Open through a foot injury and Wimbledon due to a wrist injury.