Emma Raducanu’s ‘Weird’ Move Ahead of US Open Irks Tennis Fans – ‘Will Never Win Another Slam’
With the US Open not far, top players are sweating it out at the Masters tournaments, first the Canadian Open and now the Cincinnati Open. A part of the famed ‘Summer Slam’, the two tournaments serve as a perfect platform to warm up for the Grand Slam tournament in New York after the grass-court season. As a result, the players cannot afford to miss these two events. Strangely, Emma Raducanu has had other thoughts. The British tennis sensation opted to practice back home instead of playing in these tournaments, which made fans vent their frustration.
Although Raducanu failed to make it to the main draw of these tournaments directly due to her low ranking of 71, she was handed a chance to play in the qualifying rounds. However, the Briton turned down the opportunity at both, the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open. Raducanu was last seen in action at the Citi Open in Washington, where she reached the quarterfinals. Subsequently, she opted to travel back to London and practice there on the hard courts.
Not only this, Raducanu is also uncertain to play in Monterrey or Cleveland next week. There has been no official confirmation from her, and the US Open will probably be her next tournament. Raducanu’s latest move hasn’t gone down well with the fans, who turned against her in this regard.
Raducanu hasn’t had the best of comebacks this year after overcoming wrist and ankle injuries. She has yet to make it to the final of a tournament this season, let alone winning a title. Further, she also missed some crucial events like the French Open and the Miami Open.
With Raducanu now skipping the two big events in Canada and Cincinnati ahead of the US Open, some fans are losing faith in her. One angry fan revealed, “She will never win another slam. she will win small tournaments and wta 500 tournaments.” Interestingly, three years ago, she surprised one and all by winning the US Open title, which remains her only major victory.
She will never win another slam. she will win small tournaments and wta 500 tournaments
— MO (@kmar_NY) August 13, 2024
Meanwhile, a section of fans were left bewildered by Raducanu’s decision to practice in London instead of having match practice at the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open. One of the Twitter users commented, “Just weird.” Similarly, a die-hard fan couldn’t stop criticizing Raducanu’s decision, saying, “I like her but…. Some weird decisions.”
While Raducanu has opted against playing in the qualifying rounds, more decorated players like Naomi Osaka have opted to play in these stages. For instance, Osaka played in the qualifiers at the Cincinnati Open. Despite Osaka losing at this stage, a fan heaped praise on her and criticized Raducanu, commenting, “When you see multiple time grand slam winner Osaka play qualifying matches and Emma doesn’t, shows you who loves tennis.”
Lastly, one of the fans had a similar feeling that Raducanu was not being serious when it came to playing in the tournaments that made her go through the qualifying rounds. “She is less than serious when it comes to her job.”
Interestingly, at her home country’s Grand Slam this year, Raducanu was supposed to participate with Andy Murray in mixed doubles. It was the British veteran’s last Wimbledon and the WTA star had expressed excitemement at the thought of playing with one of the Big 4. However, an injury scare had her backtracking.
Sir Andy Murray has said he has not spoken to Emma Raducanu since she curtailed his farewell appearance at Wimbledon this month and defended his mother Judy’s angry response to her withdrawal from the mixed doubles ⬇️https://t.co/lX31Atdg51
— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) July 24, 2024
“Unfortunately I woke up with some stiffness in my right wrist this morning, so therefore I have decided to make the very tough decision to withdraw from the mixed doubles tonight. I’m disappointed as I was really looking forward to playing with Andy but got to take care,” Raducanu stated.
It invited much hate against the British youngster, including some veiled jibes from Murray’s mom Judy. However, she did have some supporters that believed her injury news and wanted her to prioritize her singles career. Nevertheless, since then, Raducanu’s appearances haven’t given fans much confidence in her state of form.
Nonetheless, Raducanu is practicing hard back home on the hard courts, with US Open glory in sight. Can she repeat the impressive feat achieved three years back? Let us know your views in the comments below.
