Andy Murray to make singles return at Cincinnati next week

Andy Murray says he has accepted a wild-card invitation to make his return to singles competition at the Western & Southern Open next week.

Murray announced the news on his Facebook page Friday.

The three-time major champion and former No. 1 hasn't played a singles match on tour since the Australian Open in January.

At the time, he made it sound as if he would be retiring because of a painful hip that already has been surgically repaired.

But Murray had a second hip operation shortly after that and began playing doubles in June.

He has been cautious about when he might be able to get back on the court in singles.

Murray won the U.S. Open 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016.

Murray has endured back pain for most of his career and the troubles there have spread to groin and hip in recent years. Murray risked career-ending surgery on his chronic back pain in 2013, then tried to solve his hip problem with an operation in Melbourne at the start of 2018, which proved unsuccessful. It was not until he explored the radical Birmingham Method of resurfacing of the hip joint that he found comfort in surgery in London after returning in serious discomfort from the 2019 Australian Open. He went through five excruciating sets against Roberto Bautista Agut there and, in a tearful press conference, admitted he was seriously considering retirement.

However, his love of the game and a determination to give it one last try has driven him to this point. He turned 32 last month. His future in the game might not be long, but it could prove to be as interesting as his first 14 years as a professional, perhaps culminating with an unprecedented third gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.