Emma Raducanu given the all-clear after Andy Murray row and Olympics backlash

Emma Raducanu has shrugged off the backlash after her decisions regarding the Paris Olympics and Wimbledon stirred controversy. The 21-year-old British tennis sensation opted out of competing with Andy Murray in the Wimbledon mixed doubles over injury concerns. Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champ, was initially set to compete alone in the men’s singles and team up with his brother Jamie in the doubles at SW19.

However, he withdrew from his opening singles match against Tomas Machac and subsequently the entire tournament due to ongoing recovery from back surgery. The Murray brothers’ defeat to John Peers and Rinky Hijikata in the first round of the men’s doubles dashed hopes for a triumphant exit for Murray at what appeared to be his final Wimbledon appearance. Raducanu’s subsequent withdrawal from the mixed doubles with Murray sparked a wave of criticism from fans who felt she had marred the tennis legend’s last hurrah. Raducanu defended her decision at the time, saying: “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 still stand by making the right call. He was obviously disappointed because it’s his last match [at Wimbledon]. But what a champion. I think that hopefully he’ll play in the Olympics and have another farewell there. I think with every decision, people are entitled to their opinions,” reports the Express. Despite the disappointment, Murray expressed no hard feelings towards the situation, admitting he’s not bitter about the decision of the young player who chose not to partner with him, adding: “Everyone is going to look out for their best interests and what it is that they do. I understand that, and I don’t have an issue with that.

“Getting to finish playing at Wimbledon on Centre Court with my brother was unbelievably special. That obviously wasn’t how I’d planned it. That’s how it ended up, and I’m really happy about that. I’m not frustrated or bitter about it. I’m happy that I got to finish playing at Wimbledon with my brother.” Raducanu has also faced some backlash for her decision to skip the Olympic Games in Paris this summer – and she’s not alone, as Ons Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka have also opted out of the competition. Raducanu has stated that she is prioritising her body and health over competing in every possible tournament.

She said: “It’s pretty natural becoming a different person overnight almost with the circumstances, not necessarily myself, at such a young age. So not in a diva way, I’m just prioritising my body and my health because I know if I’m fit, I know if I’m giving my 100 per cent, I know great things are happening and coming. “It’s easier to get caught up in it and at one point I was chasing playing too many tournaments and then I was just picking up niggle after niggle in every tournament because I never really gave myself any time to do the training. That is something I’ve done a lot better this year. Even though I might get challenged or questioned for not playing certain tournaments, like the French Open or the Olympics, that is just part of it, doing things at my own speed and how I want to, rather than how everyone else thinks is best for me.”

Annabel Croft, the former World No. 1, didn’t hold back her surprise at this move, saying: “I have to be honest, I was very surprised to hear that she wouldn’t want to go there,” before adding: “I just hope she doesn’t regret it. I’m sure she will have many other opportunities in the future, but you never know. “Her body has broken down a few times already, she has had wrist surgeries and ankle surgery and it has prevented her from getting any momentum in her game.” Former Polish Olympian, Agnieszka Radwanska, meanwhile came to the defence of tennis players who have decided to skip this summer’s Olympics.

She explained: “You can never tell how the girls are feeling and they will have their reasons for not playing at the Olympics. The tennis schedule is so tight. You have tournaments pretty much every other week and you prepare for that. She continued: “You have to think ahead about what is going to happen.