Emma Raducanu is owning up to her decision of having to withdraw from her doubles match alongside Andy Murray due to stiffness on her wrist.
On Saturday, July 6, the 21-year-old received a lot of backlash from pulling herself out of the match as result of ruining her 37-year-old partner’s last serve at Wimbledon.
Andy, who has been playing the sport of tennis since he was a little one, gained fame when he made it to the 2012 London Olympics. Since then he has become a well known player in the industry for winning Wimbledon twice and the US Open once.
Emma recalled during a press conference shared by Wimbledon,”Of course, I didn’t want to take his last match away from him. But at the end of the day, I think a lot of the players in a similar situation would have done the same thing, prioritizing their body…I stand by the decision. Yeah, obviously it was a tough decision, though.”
According to the tennis player, she had been suffering from both a stiff back and wrist which she felt while playing in her singles match that she played against Lulu Sun which she lost to. “I dont think it was a mistake because I was feeling fine and then yesterday morning just woke up with stiffness. I have to prioritize myself, and my singles, and my body, and I think it was the right decision. I stand by the decision, obviously it was a tough decision because it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” she shared.
“I think in this sport especially, as an individual, you have to make your own calls and prioritize yourself. Especially with my history, I just had to put myself first,” she added later on.
Despite it all she expressed how she hopes that Andy gets his second chance at a farewell in this year’s Paris Olympics, and referred to him as a “champion.” Though he had to walk away from the sport, he mentioned during his farewell ceremony “it’s hard because I would love to keep playing. But I can’t. Physically it’s too tough now, all of the injuries they’ve added up now and like I said they havent been insignificant. I want to play forever, I love this sport. It’s given me so much… taught me loads of lessons over the years I can use and the rest of my life. I don’t want to stop, it’s hard.”
