Sir Andy Murray shares an interesting reason for the increase in tennis injuries following Jack Draper’s exit from Wimbledon.
Sir Andy Murray shared an interesting take on why tennis injuries seem to be happening more often lately, after Jack Draper had to leave Wimbledon because of a recurring arm problem.
Murray, a two-time Wimbledon champion, retired in 2024, eight years after winning his last Grand Slam against Milos Raonic in 2016. During his career, he reached three Wimbledon finals, winning his first in 2013 against Novak Djokovic. The year before, he lost to Roger Federer, who holds the record with eight Wimbledon titles. Both of Murray’s Wimbledon wins were straight sets, but his first Grand Slam title at the US Open was a thrilling five-set battle with Djokovic.
Murray faced plenty of injuries over the years, which isn’t surprising given his energetic and tough style on the court. After hip surgery in 2019, he never quite got back to his best level, the one that put him among the famous ‘Big Four’ alongside Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal.
Now coaching Jack Draper, who stepped out of Wimbledon this year because of his arm injury, Murray recently spoke at an IBM event about why upper limb injuries might be on the rise. He told Tennis365, “The data doesn’t show more injuries now than 10 years ago, but there seem to be more injuries in the arm area.”
Murray thinks this is because of changes in racket technology. He explained, “Players use much lighter rackets now, with very stiff strings, so a lot of force goes through the arm. Before, rackets and strings absorbed more of that force. I think some players should think about that.”
He added that players might feel they need lighter rackets to keep up with today’s faster game.
Other players like Emma Raducanu, who won the 2021 US Open, also pulled out of Wimbledon recently due to a leg injury. Another big name missing from Wimbledon because of an arm injury is Carlos Alcaraz, a seven-time Grand Slam winner. The Spanish star skipped both Roland Garros and Wimbledon to recover from a wrist problem caused by the strain of his powerful forehands and fast playing style.