Andy Murray to play challenger tournament in Italy after withdrawing from Australian Open due to COVID-19

Rome: Andy Murray has entered a lower-tier challenger tournament in Italy next month after withdrawing from the Australian Open with the .

Murray is listed to play an indoor tournament in Biella starting 15 February, the Italian Tennis Federation said Wednesday.

The tournament has 132,000 euros ($160,000) in prize money.

Murray tested positive for shortly before he was due to board a charter flight to Melbourne, where he had been given a wild-card entry.

Murray is a former No. 1 who is currently ranked 123rd as he works his way back from hip issues that led to two operations.

He last played a challenger event in August 2019 in Mallorca, Spain, while recovering from his hip problems.

Also entered for the Biella tournament are 54th-ranked Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who also tested positive for before his planned trip to Australia, No. 74 Lucas Pouille, Sebastian Korda, Andreas Seppi and Lorenzo Musetti.