Emma Raducanu said she stands by her decision to withdraw from her scheduled mixed doubles match with Andy Murray, even though the controversy cast what she described as “a dark cloud” over her Wimbledon weekend.
Raducanu had initially expressed his enthusiasm about working with Murray after inviting her to play with him in a text message late Tuesday night.
But on Saturday afternoon, Raducanu’s management team announced that she was withdrawing from the mixed doubles event due to stiffness in her right wrist. It appeared she was also concerned about the awkward scheduling of the doubles event at the end of a long schedule on No1 Court, which could have kept her at the All England Club until after 10pm.
As it turned out, Raducanu still lost her fourth-round match against world number 123 Lulu Sun on Sunday. But that did not lead to a retrospective change of heart.
“I still stand by making the right decision,” Raducanu told reporters after her defeat. “It was a very difficult decision. Of course I didn’t want to take away his last match [Murray]But ultimately I think a lot of players in a similar situation would have done the same.”
When asked how Murray had reacted, Raducanu replied: “[He was] obviously disappointed because it’s his last match. But yeah, what a champion. I think he’ll hopefully compete in the Olympics and have a farewell party there.”
She admitted that there was ‘a bit of a cloud hanging over the decision’ [to pull out of the mixed doubles].” But then she added, “I don’t think I would have done it any other way. I think in this sport, especially as an individual, you have to make your own decisions and put yourself first. Especially with my history, I just had to put myself first.
“Going into the tournament I didn’t expect to make it to the fourth round. So for me it was a no-brainer [to accept]. I would have liked to play. He didn’t ask me, ‘If you’re still in singles, are you going to play?’ That was never a question that had to be answered.”
Regarding the controversial ruling that Judy Murray posted on social media, in which she called the revocation “astonishing,” Raducanu said she was unaware of the post. When it was explained to her, she responded, “I’m sure she didn’t mean it that way.”
Asked to explain the reason behind her withdrawal, Raducanu explained: “I woke up yesterday with a stiff wrist. Because the balls on the grass are quite heavy, it’s something I have to learn to deal with. I’ve been playing on the grass for a few weeks now. I guess I just had to prioritise my singles.”
Earlier on Sunday, Judy Murray had said the post was not meant to be taken seriously. She had blocked access to her posts on X shortly after making her statement, which appeared in response to a post by veteran tennis commentator Marcus Buckland. The reaction to her post was not exactly warm.
But on Sunday morning she reactivated her profile and tweeted: “I’m not sure anyone understands sarcasm these days. I’m pretty sure the scheduling (fourth match on Court 1 with singles the next day) played a major role in the decision-making.”
This time she had turned off the comments so there would be no more backlash.
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