Murray defends Raducanu following criticism after Wimbledon exit
John McEnroe was heavily criticised after jumping to the conclusion immediately after the match on the BBC that she could not handle the occasion, and Piers Morgan weighed in on Twitter saying she needed to toughen up.
ANDY Murray has stepped in to defend Emma Raducanu on social media following criticism of the teenager’s withdrawal from Wimbledon.
The 18-year-old announced herself as a new star of British tennis by reaching the fourth round on her debut at the All England Club.
But she was unable to complete her match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic on Monday evening, withdrawing after an off-court medical timeout down 6-4, 3-0.
Difficulty breathing was given as the official reason for her withdrawal but no explanation for what caused it has yet been offered by Raducanu or her team, leading to intense speculation.
John McEnroe was heavily criticised after jumping to the conclusion immediately after the match on the BBC that she could not handle the occasion, and Piers Morgan weighed in on Twitter saying she needed to toughen up.
Murray replied to a tweet from Kevin Pietersen about mental toughness being what separated good athletes from great ones, although the former England cricketer later insisted he had not been referring to Raducanu.
Murray wrote: “No question mental toughness can be what separates the best in sport but surely both of you aren’t judging her mental toughness on yesterday’s match ” In a break with convention, the contest was the final match on Court One despite all the other women’s ties having been played earlier in the day ahead of the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
The All England Club said in a statement: “We were very sad to see Emma forced to withdraw from her match last night and wish her all the best with her recovery.
A five-set men’s match between Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Zverev meant Raducanu and Tomljanovic did not walk out on court until shortly before 8.00 pm (local time), which enabled the contest to be shown in primetime on BBC One.
The statement continued: “In respect of scheduling, as always, the scheduling of the order of play each day at the Championships is a complex operation and, although we take great care when scheduling matches and allocating courts on a daily basis, it is not an exact science.”