Tennis legend John McEnroe has been left red-faced after his comments about rising British tennis star Emma Raducanu were ill received.
Raducanu retired from her round of 16 match at Wimbledon for medical reasons against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, but McEnroe suggested she was overwhelmed by the occasion of playing at Wimbledon at her first-ever Grand Slam.
“It’s a shame. I feel bad for Emma. It appears like it just got too much, which is understandable,” he said.
“It makes you look at the guys and girls who have been around for so long and wonder how they handle it. Hopefully she will learn from this experience.
“Maybe it’s not a shame this has happened right now when she is 18. I played this tournament at 18 and in a way I was happy I lost.
“I was able to understand what it would take to make it. Allow her to take some deep breaths and maybe get some wildcards.”
His comments were slammed on Twitter, with British sports reporter Rob Vickerman tweeting “How can John McEnroe come out with those comments not knowing anything about her retirement from the match?!”
Broadcaster Harriet Minter agreed.
“Listening to the John McEnroe commentary about Emma Raducanu. Two things: 1. Is he drunk? 2. Is there anything more annoying than a man telling a woman she’s not hurt she’s just emotional? No, no there isn’t. Please ask him to stop,” she tweeted.
Journalist Chloe Hubbard added: “Feel like the producers could have given McEnroe a bit of a better mental health briefing ahead of him sharing ALL the views there. But you do you.”
Even Raducanu’s opponent, Australian Alja Tomljanovic said that his comments were “definitely harsh”.
“I wasn’t 100 per cent sure what was wrong with Emma. I did hear the reasoning. I’ll start with saying that I can’t imagine being in her shoes at 18, playing a fourth round in your home country. It’s something I can’t even imagine,” Tomljanovic said.
“For him to say that, it’s definitely harsh. I have experienced something similar but not to that extent. I know that it’s a real thing. I’ve spoken to athletes that have gone through that. It’s not easy.
“When I heard the reasoning, I almost felt worse about it because I know how bad that can feel. But then again, it didn’t happen to me.
“I can’t imagine how she must be feeling having to pull out. Being down 6-4 3-0, you can come back from that quickly, especially on grass.
“It’s really sad that she had to do that. I do feel sorry.”
