Emma Raducanu critics told to ‘temper levels of cynicism’ after ‘devastating’ Wimbledon news
Emma Raducanu deserves sympathy and not cynicism following her last-minute withdrawal from Wimbledon with Sky Sports commentator Jonathan Overend saying it must have been a very difficult decision for the British No 1.
Following a lengthy battle with illness that resulted in her missing several tournaments, things appeared to finally click for Raducanu as she reached the final of the HSBC Championships before losing against Donna Vekic.
That run pushed her back into the top 32 of the WTA Rankings and earned her a Wimbledon seeding, but she then withdrew from the Eastbourne Open and days before the grass-court major got underway, she was unable to train due to injury.
Raducanu put on a brave face on the eve of her first-round match on Sunday afternoon as she was hopeful she would take to court the next day, but the devastating news came later on the day as she was advised not play due to a stress fracture in her right leg.
Several high-profile tennis commentators were quick to share their opinions on her latest setback with former British No 1 Tim Henman telling the Daily Mail she needs to be “physically more resilient” while others have questioned her future.
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Overend, though, says it is important not to forget how Raducanu is feeling as “there’s no way she would have wanted this situation”.
“It can’t be overstated how difficult it is for these British players to pull out of Wimbledon the day before it starts and I think so much of the talk around Raducanu is about the frequency of the injuries and how fragile she appears to be,” he told Sky Sports.
“Let’s forget about that for a moment and think of a human being who was about to play in a tournament that she’s had some really good results in the past – off the back of reaching the final at Queen’s with her hopes presumably pretty high for a decent run here as a seeded player.
“To have to pull out the night before it starts, I just hope the levels of cynicism are just tempered a little bit.
“There’s no way she would have wanted this situation, which is why she left it as long as she did because she wanted to give herself every chance of playing.
“It’s devastating for her, disappointing for the tournament, but I hope everybody wishes her a speedy recovery because she’s been so unlucky with injuries.”
