Fans are excited by Emma Raducanu’s strong start to Wimbledon this year.
The 21-year-old tennis player has won each of her first three matches at the tournament in straight sets. On Friday, she breezed past 9th-ranked Maria Sakkari, beating her 6-2, 6-3.
Raducanu, who won the U.S. Open in 2021, has struggled with multiple injuries throughout her career. Fans have been happy to see her get some of her old form back.
The young player, however, received some unjust criticism on Saturday, July 6, when she announced that she would withdraw from the mixed doubles competition. She cited wrist soreness as her reason.
Her withdrawal means that the Wimbledon journey is over for her partner Andy Murray, a popular British tennis player. Murray was forced to pull out of the men’s singles competition with a back injury, Daily Mail reports. He then lost his men’s doubles match on July 4.
Murray recently announced that he is retiring this year, meaning this was his last Wimbledon tournament. Fans have defended Raducanu in response to what they say is the media framing Emma as the person who ended his tournament hopes. Headlines from The Guardian and ESPN read “Andy Murray’s Wimbledon career over as Raducanu pulls out of mixed doubles” and “Andy Murray’s Wimbledon career ends as Raducanu withdraws.”
“Hey Daily Mail, Emma Raducanu isn’t ‘ending’ Andy Murray’s career. They’re both injured. Stop blaming women for things that aren’t their fault,” a woman named Alice wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Murray’s mother Judy Murray reacted to a tweet that read, “Astonishing news that Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from her mixed doubles match with Andy Murray. She’s citing soreness in her right wrist. It means Murray has played his last match at Wimbledon. Oh dear.”
Judy Murray replied to the Tweet writing, “Yes, astonishing.”
Fans are also criticizing Judy Murray for adding to the pile-on.
“The astonishing thing is that Judy Murray would fuel the misogynistic attacks on Emma Raducanu. She’s got a big singles match tomorrow and is bound to want to give herself every chance of being at her best. Andy Murray would have done the same,” Steve Howell wrote.
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