(Reuters) - Former world number one Andy Murray will compete in his first Challenger Tour event in 14 years at next week's Rafa Nadal Open in Mallorca, tournament organisers confirmed https://www.rafanadalopen.com/media/noticias/andy-murray-jugara-rafa-nadal-open-by-sothebys-international-realty on Thursday.
The 32-year-old pulled out of the doubles event at the U.S. Open to focus on his singles comeback after undergoing career-saving hip resurfacing surgery.
Murray was beaten in straight sets by Richard Gasquet at the Cincinnati Masters earlier this month -- his first singles match since an opening-round Australian Open exit in January.
He then lost to American Tennys Sandgren in the first round of the Winston-Salem Open last week.
The three-times Grand Slam champion has now decided to step down to the second-tier for the first time since 2005, when he played in the Challenger event in Mons, Belgium as an 18-year-old.
World number 329 Murray is set to return to the ATP Tour with two tournaments in China -- Zhuhai and Beijing -- in September and October.
The Rafa Nadal Open in Manacor, Mallorca will be held from Aug. 26 to Sept. 1.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
