Emma Radacanu sets the record straight on her decision to pull out of the Wimbledon Open mixed doubles event. Her decision abruptly ended Andy Murray’s Wimbledon career.
Emma Raducanu stood by her decision to pull out of her scheduled mixed doubles with three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray in Wimbledon, promptly ending the British tennis star’s All-England Club career on an unexpected note.
"I think it was the right decision. I stand by the decision," Raducanu told reporters in the post-game interview of a 6-2 5-7 6-2 defeat against New Zealand qualifier Lulu Su, ending her her women’s singles campaign at the 2024 Wimbledon Open.
“It was a very difficult decision. Of course, I didn’t want to take [Murray’s] 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,” she added.
The 2021 US Open champion, together with her countryman Murray, received a wild card entry for the mixed doubles event at the grass-court major tournament.
While Murray has yet to announce an official retirement date, he has hinted that the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will likely be his final tournament, meaning this year’s Wimbledon could be his final Grand Slam swing.
However, in a shocking turn of events, Raducanu pulled the plug on the expected pairing hours ahead of their match against Zhang Shuai and Marcelo Arevalo due to “wrist soreness.”
"Unfortunately, I woke up with some stiffness in my right wrist, so therefore I have decided to make the very tough decision to withdraw from the mixed doubles tonight,” Raducanu said in a statement.
“I’m disappointed as I was really looking forward to playing with Andy but got to take care."
That would have marked Murray’s first mixed doubles appearance since the 2019 Wimbledon Open, when he joined forces with 23-time major singles winner Serena Williams to win a pair of matches.
The sudden withdrawal of Raducanu sparked a debate among tennis fans around the world that even Andy’s mom, Judy Murray, responded to the news with a two-word reply on X, formerly as Twitter.
Raducanu said she had not been aware of the post by Judy and when it was explained to her, she replied: “I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”
The 21-year-old insisted that she felt fine a day before their scheduled mixed doubles match but “woke up with stiffness,” emphasizing she need to "prioritize myself, my singles and my body.”
Reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon represented Raducanu's best return in a Slam since her remarkable U.S. Open triumph in 2021 after an injury-riddled 2023 season.
She was out for nine months last year after undergoing surgeries in both wrists and her left ankle and missed the French Open this year.
Despite an abrupt ending in the All-England Club, the former world no. 10 sees positive signs moving forward. However, she acknowledged there are areas of her game that needs work.
"For sure there are areas I need to keep improving," she said. "I think I improved a few things. My serve got better. I think I need to just work on the consistency of it, like being good every day not just like some days.