Emma Raducanu has spoken out on her withdrawal from the mixed doubles competition at Wimbledon this year, which abruptly ended the SW19 career of British tennis legend Andy Murray.
Raducanu and Murray were due to compete in what was billed as the Scot’s farewell match as a professional tennis player. However, with her women’s singles campaign going well and her wrist causing discomfort, Raducanu pulled out and opted to conserve her energy.
Murray’s farewell was therefore something of an anti-climax, and his mother, Judy, called Raducanu’s decision ‘astonishing’ on social media.
Murray’s mum later backtracked on her comments by saying: “Not sure anyone understands sarcasm these days.” Others were also angered by Raducanu’s withdrawal, with the 21-year-old deeming the general reaction to be ‘very harsh’.
“It’s very easy for the entire nation and for the press too to be very harsh on me and I think I can be very hard on myself because I’m a perfectionist,” Raducanu told ELLE. “It’s extremely difficult when something doesn’t go to plan. Some losses definitely hurt more than others.”
Raducanu’s impressive Wimbledon campaign ended in defeat against Lulu Sun in the last 16, and the youngster’s promising revival saw her reach the quarter-finals of the Citi Open earlier this month, where she lost to eventual tournament winner Paula Badosa.
Raducanu will return to the scene of her finest hour next week, as she gets her 2024 US Open campaign underway three years after producing one of the biggest shocks in tennis history by winning the Grand Slam as a teenage qualifier.
She faces fellow Grand Slam winner Sofia Kenin in a tough first round, and even a victory would set up a projected meeting with world No.6 Jessica Pegula in the second. But Raducanu is happy with her game as she heads to Flushing Meadows.
“I just play so much better when I’m happy and putting my personality out there,” the British No.2 told Sky Sports. “I think I’ve been playing a lot freer in the last month. I have been expressing myself, I’ve been fighting and there has been a lot of passion, I’ve been feisty. And that’s me.
“I’m really tenacious and gritty. I just feel a real fire back and desire. I’ve got that spark back which is what I’m most pleased about.”
