Andy Murray is playing in his final Wimbledon this week.

At the end of his match on Thursday, he was given an emotional farewell to celebrate his career.

Andy Murray might not be a name that a casual sports fans is too familiar with. His career accomplishments do not match that of his storied peers – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Each of them have won 20+ Grand Slam titles (the ultimate prize for a professional tennis player). Murray won a meagre three.

Federer, Nadal & Djokovic will be remembered as the greatest to ever play the game. Murray will not.

Numbers Don’t Tell the Whole Story

Britain has endured an agonising history with tennis. As a nation, it is partially responsible for creating the sport. It also hosts the sports unofficial signature event every year at Wimbledon.

Despite that, Britain failed to develop any talented players in decades. The last male British player to win Wimbledon was Fred perry in 1936. The female record isn’t much better.

Every year, British fans pack into the Wimbledon stands and scream for their home players, only to see them knocked out in the early rounds.

When Murry broke into the top four of the world rankings, it was an extraordinary and unusual feat. But ultimate success would not come easily.

Murray played in four major finals between 2008 and 2012. He lost them all to Federer and Djokovic. After his painful 2012 loss to Federer in the Wimbledon final, Murray broke down in tears declaring, “I’m getting closer.”

Less than a month later, he beat Federer on the same Wimbledon court to win Gold at the London Olympics. A month after that he beat Djokovic to win the US Open in New York.

He returned to the Wimbledon Final in 2013 and beat Djokovic again, ending Britain’s 77-year wait for a Male Champion. All this was done under intense pressure.

In 2016 he won a second Wimbledon championship and won a second Olympic Gold medal in Rio. His success meant that he ended 2016 as the No.1 ranked player in the world for the first time.

His persistence and hard work had taken him to the very top of the game. Everything was in place for him to enjoy more success.

Nothing is Guaranteed

Throughout 2017 Murray suffered from debilitating hip pain. The injury impeded his ability to walk. He was seen hobbling around the court during his matches.

Somehow he found a way to win many of his matches. But he was not the player he was in 2016.

Eventually he took a break. He underwent surgery in 2018, and again in 2019. The second surgery meant that Murray was pain free.

By then he had dropped to 839 in the world rankings, and lost his competitive edge.

His desire to continue playing professional tennis was strong. He opted to drop to the second tier Challenger Tour so he could play tournaments and improve his ranking.

Murray continued to push himself to get back to the level he had reached earlier in his career. He climbed back into the top 50 of the world rankings and enjoyed the occasional win against a top 10 player.

Despite his dedication and desire to win major honours again, he acknowledged that his body would no longer allow him to compete at the highest level. In 2024, he announced his plan to step away from the sport sometime during the summer.

Why Did Murray Continue Playing?

My girlfriend recently asked me, “Why does Andy Murray continue playing when he doesn’t win much anymore?”

It’s a fair question. I’m sure many observers have asked the same question of Andy, as well as other elite performers who fall from grace.

When you’re accustomed to being at the very top of your profession, competing in semi-finals and finals of the biggest tournaments, it can be difficult to find the motivation to play on a smaller stage.

But playing tennis isn’t just a profession for Murray. He loves the game. He wanted to continue playing tennis for as long as he could.

Passion is a game changer. It can energise you to tolerate all manner of pain and discomfort.

It’s the reason why certain people can effortlessly pursue success while others lack the required commitment. 

I’ve witnessed people who are able to grit their teeth and force themselves to succeed at something for which they have very little enjoyment doing. But it’s not sustainable in the long run.

Pushing yourself to be good at something which you don’t really enjoy will ultimately lead to burnout and resentment.

How do you know if you love doing what you do?

You can apply a very simple test to determine how much you love what you do.

Presume you don’t need any money. You’re able to pay your bills and comfortably afford all that you need for you and your family.

If that were your reality, would you still do what you do every day?

If you didn’t have to get out of bed and put yourself through some of the less enjoyable disciplines required to be successful, would you find the motivation?

Steve Jobs looked in the mirror at the end of every day and asked himself, “If today were the last day of your life, would you want to be doing what you’re doing?”

If the answer to this question had been ‘No’ for too many consecutive days, he knew it was an indication to change something.

How much passion do you have for what you do?