Britain's world No 2 Andy Murray has effectively ruled himself out for the rest of the tennis season as he continues to recover from a hip injury. Murray, 30, has endured a difficult year which has been brought into sharper focus when compared to how he ended the 2016 campaign. After concluding the year as world No 1 having won a second Wimbledon title and successfully retaining his Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, Murray's 2017 season began in high hopes. <strong>READ MORE:</strong> However, this season as produced just one title - at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships - while elbow and hip injuries have hampered Murray's chances of sustained form and momentum. It appears now as if the hip problem that saw Murray limp through his Wimbledon quarter-final defeat to Sam Querrey and ruled him out of the US Open could end his season altogether after he announced a series of withdrawals via his social media accounts. "Unfortunately, I won’t be able to compete in the upcoming events in Beijing and Shanghai, and most likely, the final two events to finish the season in Vienna and Paris due to my hip injury which has been bothering me the last few months," Murray wrote on his Instagram page. "Having consulted with a number of leading hip specialists over the last week, along with my own team, we have decided that this is the best decision for my long-term future. "Although this has been a frustrating year on court for many reasons, I’m confident after this extended period of rest and rehabilitation that I will be able to reach my best level again and be competing for Grand Slam titles next season." Murray joins long-time rival Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka by seemingly ruling himself out for the rest of the season. Djokovic is sidelined with an elbow problem, while Wawrinka is rehabilitating a knee injury.
