Emma Raducanu's withdrawal from her Wimbledon mixed doubles match on Saturday has incited differing views on social media.
Because of the timing and the magnitude of the match on paper, the 21-year-old's withdrawal was bound to cause outrage within the tennis community.
This was unlike any other mixed doubles match. It was supposed to be Andy Murray's last Wimbledon. After the Scot lost with his birther Jamie in men's doubles on Thursday, it was widely believed that the former World No. 1 had one more match to play, at the very least, on the iconic major.
Ig is ironic that Murray was denied that chance not because of his own body, which has betrayed him many times during his illustrious career, but that of his partner Raducanu.
Raducanu is having a fine tournament in singles. She has reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon for the second time after earning a second Top 10 win on grass (defeating Maria Sakkari).
But just hours before she joined forces with Murray in mixed doubles on Saturday, the WTA star made public her decision to withdraw from the match because of a stiff wrist.
It has been reported that Raducanu was practicing on Saturday morning with a strapped wrist before she made that big call that the Murray camp has not kindly received.
Murray's mother, Judy, was devastated by the news, describing it as "astonishing" on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Several fans were in agreement, asserting that the three-time Grand Slam winner was "robbed" of a potential last match at Wimbledon.
The 37-year-old has previously mentioned that this will be his last Wimbledon before he retires at the Paris Olympics. But Raducanu has received strong backing from other tennis pundits and fans.
One of those is Greg Rusedski, who understands Raducanu's limitations due to injuries and presumably was prioritizing her singles campaign.
"More than understandable @EmmaRaducanu has pulled out of the mixed doubles . No need to take a risk with the wrist."
One tennis fan mentioned that Raducanu had earned the right to call her shots regarding her body. The former World No. 10 underwent three surgeries last summer, including two on her wrists.
"Exactly right Greg. I'm astonished that some in the tennis world are having a sly dig at her when they should know better, given Emma's history of injury. Her body has to come first."
Another user highlighted how the British public gave Murray a sendoff following his doubles match. Raducanu, meanwhile, is thinking of her singles draw. She is set to play the surprise package of the tournament, Lulu Sun, in the fourth round on Sunday.
"100%. It would have been great to see another much from Murray (even if.. another ceremony???). But Emma needs to think about her draw + Murray was already celebrated."
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