Andy Murray is getting set to say farewell to Wimbledon before retirement (probably)

LONDON (AP) — If this does actually turn out to be the end for Andy Murray at Wimbledon — and, given his history, there are those who don't believe, or maybe just don't want to believe, the 37-year-old from Scotland definitely will never return — he will be celebrated and remembered for all sorts of reasons.

Murray decided he was not ready to play singles shortly after surgery to remove a cyst on his spine, but he was scheduled to compete in men's doubles with his older brother, Jamie, at Centre Court on Thursday.

And on Wednesday, the All England Club announced there will be at least one more chance for fans to see Murray play at the tournament he always will be most closely associated with, because he and 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu were awarded a wild-card entry for mixed doubles.

Asked how long it took her to accept Murray's invitation to team up, Raducanu replied: “Literally, like 10 seconds.”

“Some things are bigger than just tennis. Some things are a once-in-a-lifetime memory that you’re going to have for the rest of your life,” she said. “At the end of my life, at the end of my career, when I’m like 70 years old, I know I’m going to have that memory of playing Wimbledon with Andy Murray (at) a home Slam. For me, yeah, it was an honor to be asked.”

Murray won singles championships at Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016, the first of which made him the first British man to triumph in singles at the All England Club in 77 years.

“I’ll make sure I make the most of it,” Murray said about his farewell appearance at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. “It’s easier said than done to just enjoy it when you’re out there, because you’re competing and concentrating, trying to win the match.”

One would imagine the spectators will just enjoy watching, no matter the result.

“Most people already have their ideas and opinions of him and what he means to them or what he brought to the tennis court. His determination, more than anything, sort of probably overrides most things that people maybe think about. His almost, like, ‘refuse-to-lose’ attitude,” Jamie Murray said. “In this country, he took a lot of people along for the ride on a journey with him over the last 15 years.”

Andy Murray said he plans to retire after the Paris Olympics; the tennis event will be hosted at Roland Garros, the site of the French Open, and begins on July 27.

Skeptics note that he announced he was going to quit in 2019 — a year after his first hip operation, and shortly before his second — and there was even a ceremony and a tribute video shown after Murray's first-round loss at the Australian Open that January. He, of course, returned, playing on an artificial hip.

“You never know. He might be back next year. I have no idea,” said Katie Boulter, a British player seeded 32nd in the women's bracket. “Never say ‘never’ with Andy.”

Murray's accomplishments are many. The three Grand Slam titles, including at the U.S. Open in 2012. The year-end No. 1 ranking in 2016. The two consecutive gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Games, the only player with more than one Olympic singles title in tennis.

He became Britain's most significant tennis player in decades, earning enormous popularity and a knighthood bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II, while also remaining an outspoken statesman in his sport, voicing opinions on various issues, particularly when it comes to women. His hiring of Amelie Mauresmo as his coach was groundbreaking.

“He’s the best role model that a British tennis player can have, especially a Scottish player like myself. I watched him growing up," said Jacob Fearnley, a wild-card recipient in singles who faces 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic on Centre Court on Thursday. “The way he climbed up the rankings, the way he competes, the way he plays — it’s super special to see.”

Coco Gauff, last year's U.S. Open champion, and other female players have spoken in recent days about Murray's support for women in the sport.

Gauff recalled the viral clip of Murray speaking at a Wimbledon news conference in 2017, when a reporter referred to Sam Querrey as “the first American player to reach the semifinal of a Slam since 2009,” and Murray interrupted to note that Querrey was the first ”male player" from the U.S. to do so in that span, because plenty of women from the country had done so.

“I do appreciate him. Not only him, but also his mother, for everything they’ve done for equality for women’s sports,” Gauff said.

As for Murray the athlete, Gauff mentioned a quality that plenty of others did, too.

“I think his legacy is that he’s just a fighter. The most inspiration I have from him is, no matter what court he’s playing, whether it’s (at a low-level event) or Centre Court here, he’s putting 100% effort into that,” she said. “It’s really unfortunate he couldn’t get one last healthy (singles) match out here, ’cause I definitely think he deserves to end his career on his terms. I hope that the doubles goes well. ... He’s definitely an icon of the sport. He’s had an incredible career that a lot of people dream of.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

FILE - Andy Murray of Britain kisses his trophy after beating Milos Raonic of Canada in the men's singles final on day fourteen of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Murray will play only doubles at his last appearance at the All England Club following his withdrawal from singles after back surgery. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

Britain's Andy Murray looks on in the warm up area on day two of the Wimbledon tennis championships, in London, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Murray will play only doubles at his last appearance at the All England Club following his withdrawal from singles after back surgery. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

A member of the ground staff removes the name of Andy Murray from an order of play board after his withdrawal from the men's singles on day two of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Murray will play only doubles at his last appearance at the All England Club following his withdrawal from singles after back surgery. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

Britain's Emma Raducanu waves after defeating Elise Mertens of Belgium in their match on day three at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Andy Murray, left, and Jamie Murray stand on the practise courts on day two of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Tuesday July 2, 2024. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Britain's Andy Murray arrives at the practice court on day two of the Wimbledon tennis championships, in London, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Murray will play only doubles at his last appearance at the All England Club following his withdrawal from singles after back surgery. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Keir Starmer held his first Cabinet meeting Saturday as his new government takes on the massive challenge of fixing a heap of domestic woes and winning over a public weary from years of austerity, political chaos and a battered economy.

Starmer welcomed the new ministers around the table at 10 Downing St., saying it had been the honor of his life to be asked by King Charles III to form a government in a ceremony that officially elevated him to prime minister.

“We have a huge amount of work to do, so now we get on with our work,” he said.

Starmer’s Labour Party delivered the biggest blow to the Conservatives in their two-century history Friday in a landslide victory on a platform of change.

Among a raft of problems they face are boosting a sluggish economy, fixing a broken health care system, and restoring trust in government.

“Just because Labour won a big landslide doesn’t mean all the problems that the Conservative government has faced has gone away,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.

In his first remarks as prime minister Friday after the meeting “kissing of hands” ceremony with Charles at Buckingham Palace, Starmer said he would get to work immediately, though he cautioned it would take some time to show results.,

“Changing a country is not like flicking a switch,” he said as enthusiastic supporters cheered him outside his new official residence at 10 Downing. “This will take a while. But have no doubt that the work of change begins — immediately.”

He will have a busy schedule following the six-week campaign crossing the four nations of the U.K.

He will travel to Washington next week for a NATO meeting and will host the European Political Community summit July 18, the day after the state opening of Parliament and the King's Speech, which sets out the new government's agenda.

Starmer singled out several of the big items Friday, such as fixing the revered but hobbled National Health Service and securing its borders, a reference a larger global problem across Europe and the U.S. of absorbing an influx of migrants fleeing war, poverty as well as drought, heat waves and floods attributed to climate change.

Conservatives struggled to contain the flow of migrants arriving across the English Channel, failing to live up to ex-Prime Minister’s Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats.”

Starmer has said he will scrap the Conservatives controversial plan to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda. The plan had cost hundreds of millions of pounds (dollars) without a single flight taking off.

“Labour is going to need to find a solution to the small boats coming across the channel,” Bale said. “It’s going to ditch the Rwanda scheme, but it’s going to have to come up with other solutions to deal with that particular problem.”

Suella Braverman, a Conservative hard liner on immigration who is a possible contender to replace Sunak as party leader, criticized Starmer's plan to end the Rwanda pact.

“Years of hard work, acts of Parliament, millions of pounds been spent on a scheme which had it been delivered properly would have worked," she said Saturday. "There are big problems on the horizon which will be I’m afraid caused by Keir Starmer.”

Starmer's Cabinet is also getting to work.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy was to begin his first international trip Saturday to meet counterparts in Germany, Poland and Sweden to reinforce the importance of their relationship.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he would open new negotiations next week with NHS doctors at the start of their career who have staged a series of multi-day strikes. The pay dispute has exacerbated the long wait for appointments that have become a hallmark of the NHS's problems.

FILE - Labour Party leader Keir Starmer smiles as he speaks to his supporters at the Tate Modern in London, Friday, July 5, 2024. After a few hours of sleep to shake off a night of celebration and an audience with the king, Keir Starmer will step through the front door of 10 Downing St. for the first time as prime minister on Friday. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer outside 10 Downing Street in London, Friday, July 5, 2024 after returning from seeing King Charles III where he was asked to form a government. Starmer's Labour Party swept to power Friday after more than a decade in opposition, as a jaded electorate handed the party a landslide victory — but also a mammoth task of reinvigorating a stagnant economy and dispirited nation. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)