It is understood that three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray is set to return to competitive tennis next month by playing on the Challenger Tour.
Journalist Jose Morgado has reported that Murray is on the entry list for the ATP Challenger ‘Pulcra Lachiter Biella’ which is held at the Tennis I Faggi academy. Biella is located in the northern Italian region of Piedmont. The region is set to host two tournaments with Murray set to play in the second of them which starts on February 15th.
Should the entry list published remain unchanged Murray will not be seeded in the draw. Meaning it is possible that he could play Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Lucas Pouille or Soonwoo Kwon in the early rounds. They are currently the only top 100 players to have entered into the event.
The development comes after what has been a frustrating start to the year for the former world No.1. Murray tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month and was unable to travel to Australia where he had been given a wild card to play in the Melbourne major. Despite efforts to try and find a solution where he could travel to the country at a later date, none was found.
“Gutted to share that I won’t be flying out to Australia to compete at the Australian Open,” Murray said in a statement. “We’ve been in constant dialogue with Tennis Australia to try and find a solution which would allow some form of workable quarantine, but we couldn’t make it work.
“I want to thank everyone there for their efforts, I’m devastated not to be playing out in Australia – it’s a country and tournament that I love.”
In a cruel case of irony, Murray also pulled out of his first tournament of the season in America over concerns related to COVID-19. He tested positive after that decision was made.
It will be the first time Murray has played in a Challenger event since Mallorca 2019 and only the second time within the past 15 years. Only once has he previously played a Challenger tournament in Italy which was at the 2005 Barletta Open.
There has been no official word from either Murray or his team regarding his playing intentions over the coming weeks.
