Emma Raducanu denied Andy Murray a final game at Wimbledon when she withdrew from the mixed doubles and everyone seems to have an opinion on the decision.
The 21-year-old cited a stiff wrist and chose to prioritise her round of 16 singles clash against Lulu Sun which took place yesterday.
Raducanu has had surgery on her wrist in the last 12 months and clearly, there are still some physical – and mental – scars which are playing on her mind.
The 2021 US Open champion didn’t feel the benefit of pulling out of the mixed doubles as she crashed out in three sets to the New Zealand qualifier yesterday.
The latest player to be quizzed on the situation is the reigning men’s singles champion Carlos Alcaraz – and he’s delivered his response.
What Carlos Alcaraz has said about Emma Raducanu
It does feel as though the pile-on that Raducanu is suffering is a little bit harsh considering she was still involved in singles action.
The youngster was subject to a two-word response on X from Judy Murray – although there was an element of sarcasm in her response apparently.
Alcaraz is very impressive for a youngster and he’s delivered a very classy response when asked about the decision taken by Raducanu.
He said in his press conference: “It’s a difficult situation. She said she was going to play mixed doubles with Andy in the last Wimbledon of his career…I’m sure she didn’t want to pull out of the mixed doubles.
“She had her reasons to do it. I guess physical problems. I don’t know, she’s facing the fourth round of a Grand Slam at Wimbledon, I think it’s special for her to play in England.
“I’m sure a lot of players in her position would do the same thing as her. Obviously, knowing it’s his last Wimbledon is difficult to deal with.”
Raducanu had to prioritise and injuries clearly still bothering her
When you’ve gone through the level of trauma on your body that Raducanu has in the last 12 months it’s always wise to tread with caution.
Okay, some cynics will point to the fact that she lost to Lulu Sun yesterday and perhaps it was fitting after what she did to Murray.
However, if anybody knows how injuries can impact the body it should be Murray and it’s hard to believe that he will be holding a grudge here.
Raducanu needed a medical time-out during her defeat to Sun yesterday and quite clearly there are some mental obstacles to overcome here too.
After some criticism, it’s nice to Alcaraz defend Raducanu and people would perhaps be wise to take their Andy Murray-tinted glasses off when bashing the youngster.
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