Andy Murray could return in time for the grass-court season

Andy Murray could return to the practice courts by the end of this month and make his comeback from injury in the grass-court season.

Britain’s former world No.1 had hip surgery on 8 January, but according to Sky Sports the 30-year-old’s rehabilitation is going “so well” and he could return to action “sooner than expected”.

Murray was unable to compete in the Australian Open grand slam in January and has not played a competitive match since Wimbledon last year.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Since his surgery in January he has been working hard in the gym where he is “using weights and working out on the exercise bike and a vertical climber”, the BBC reports.

Sources have told Sky Sports that Murray plans on returning to the court by the end of March so he can be “match ready” in time for grass tournaments that start at the beginning of June.

After missing out on Australia, Murray told the media that he would not rush his return to tennis. Quoted by the BBC, he said in January: “I’m not going to try to get back as quickly as I can. And I’m going to take my time to make sure that the rehab is done properly, and make sure that the surgery is as successful as it can be.

“A lot of what the surgeons will tell you, a lot of it is down to your determination and your work ethic and how well you rehab, how much you listen and do all the correct things.”

The BBC says that providing everything “goes very smoothly”, Murray could be back in action by May, in the best-case scenario. The French Open grand slam is played on clay and starts on 27 May, so that could be too soon for Murray’s return.

If he is focusing on the grass-court season, the BBC says Murray’s first opportunity of competitive tennis could be the Surbiton Trophy in south-west London from 2-10 June.

The Guardian, however, says Queens could stage Murray’s comeback and the start of his preparations for Wimbledon. Queens starts on 18 June while Wimbledon, which Murray won in 2013 and 2016, begins on 2 July.