When you play sport at a high level, that sport is everything you know. It’s what you think of when you go to sleep and what motivates you to jump out of bed in the morning – the lure of the pitch or track or court. So, as an athlete who dedicated much of my life to playing rugby for England, I have a sense of how Andy Murray might be feeling.
Murray left it until the last minute to make his decision to retire from tennis. Asked what he hoped for from his final matches at Wimbledon this week, he said: “Maybe a bit of closure … I just want the opportunity to play one more time out there hopefully on Centre Court and feel that buzz.” I know that feeling very well. The support from the crowd and the country is like a drug. So, too, is the sense of purpose – the fight to be the best that you can be – and the sense of identity that a career in sport brings. Who are you if not the elite athlete who spends every hour planning and training? Who will he be if not the tennis player that the public know and love?
