Andy Murray withdraws from French Open in order to focus on Wimbledon

Andy Murray has withdrawn from this year’s French Open in order to prioritise Wimbledon preparations, according to reports.

The second grand slam of the year begins next week, but Murray has struggled to find his best form on clay recently. The former world No 1 told the Guardian 10 days ago he was still undecided whether or not to play at Roland Garros this year.

“I’ll need to have a chat with [my] team and see what the best thing to do is,” Murray said. “It’s just what the right thing is to prioritise at this stage in my career. I trust my body now, but I’m aware that my best chance of having a deep run is more likely to happen at Wimbledon.”

Murray had just been beaten by Fabio Fognini in the first round of the Italian Open, and earlier this week made another early exit on clay, losing 6-3, 6-0 to Stan Wawrinka at an ATP Challenger event in Bordeaux.

The 36-year-old did win the ATP Challenger event on clay in Aix-en-Provence this month – his first title in nearly four years – but also suffered first-round exits in Monte Carlo and Madrid. Since reaching the semi-finals in 2017, Murray has only played one French Open singles match – a first-round defeat to Wawrinka in 2020.

Murray is understood to still be considering which tournaments to target before Wimbledon, which begins on 3 July. His warm-up events could include Surbiton (4-11 June) and Queen’s Club (19-25 June).