Emma Raducanu rallies through referee rage to secure a win in Nottingham
The US Open champion called out some ‘insane’ line calls from the referee, joining the ranks of British players who are unhappy with the umpiring at the Rothesay Classic
It’s looking like a washout Wimbledon when it comes to weather this Summer, but things are looking bright for Emma Raducanu’s grass season as the British star cruised to victory in her first round match at the Nottingham open yesterday. Things got stormy during her 6-1 6-4 win over Japanese-American qualifier Ena Shibahara, though, with Raducanu raging against ‘insane’ refereeing and ‘really bad’ line calls.
‘I feel like I was playing two vs one on court, it was insane,’ said the US Open champion after the match. ‘But it just makes me feel better that I managed to beat her and the umpire as well.’ ‘Maybe it was just trying to make the match more competitive?’ she wondered. Raducanu had raced to a 6-1 5-1 lead, then took a further four games to finish out the match. ‘All of a sudden, first point serving at 5-3, it’s a really bad line call,’ she summarized.
‘It’s something I had to deal with and overcome. I am very pleased with the attitude I came out with from the get-go and also having to deal with the adversity. Shibahara is considered more of a doubles specialist, and secured a win alongside Britain’s Heather Watson yesterday.
But Raducanu wasn’t the only British player to take umbrage with the umpiring decisions at the Rothesay Classic this week. World number 92 Harriet Dart had a heated discussion with the ref during her defeat to British number one Katie Boulter yesterday, offering a bet of £50,000 that one of the ‘appalling’ line calls was incorrect. Raducanu revealed that ‘quite a few players’ were irritated by the lack of Hawk-Eye verification at the event.
