Tennis fans were left incensed by the recent comments made by Emma Raducanu about Andy Murray’s retirement. Murray played his last match as a professional player at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Murray, who holds the distinction of being the only male player to secure two singles gold medals at the Olympics (London 2012 and Rio 2016), participated solely in the doubles event at this year’s Games.The former World No.1 teamed up with Dan Evans in the men’s doubles. They defeated Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel in the first round and then triumphed over Belgium’s Joran Vliegen and Sander Gille.However, their campaign ended in the quarterfinals with a defeat against the eventual bronze medalists, the American duo of Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul. This loss marked Andy Murray’s final professional match.
Murray was slated to pair up with Raducanu in the mixed doubles at the Paris Olympics. However, she withdrew from the competition due to a right wrist injury, focusing on just her singles campaign. She faced significant criticism from fans for the decision.While speaking at a press conference ahead of the 2024 US Open, Raducanu was asked if it has been “different” since Murray’s retirement. She answered that the tennis world is constantly evolving, with the sport moving on quickly.
“No it doesn’t feel different at all. You know tennis is unforgiving in that sense. No matter kind of who you are, it just moves on. There’s always another match, there’s always another tournament. Of course Andy’s achieved amazing things and I watched him win this [US Open] tournament. But yeah it’s fast pace, just like life is, it’s old news the next day kind of thing,” Emma Raducanu said.
Raducanu’s remarks angered tennis fans, who took to social media to express their discontent. A fan deemed her comments disrespectful and arrogant:
“Emma Radacanu saying that Andy Murray is old news is probably one of the most disrespectful & arrogant things I’ve heard!! Andy Murray was & always will be a giant in the tennis world & interviews like this really show her arrogance & why she’s disliked by many!!” a fan posted.