Martina Navratilova had some sharp words for Emma Raducanu in the past months, and the Brit joked about that when they finally met in person.
Raducanu did quite a few things that nobody ever did. She became the first qualifier ever to win a Grand Slam event when she won the 2021 US Open last year. That achievement has many variations because she’s also the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam without dropping a set.
The bottom line is that she did something nobody did before her. She’s now added to that list by doing something else that nobody ever did before, and that’s to bagel both Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka.
They are some of the best players the sport has seen in recent history, and in the case of Serena Williams, the best of all time. Raducanu faced both of them this week in Cincinnati and beat both of them in straight sets.
She beat Williams 6-4, 6-0, while Azarenka lost 6-0, 6-2. Those are some impressive scorelines, and while both Williams and Azarenka are far from their best, bageling them is still notable.
No player ever has bageled both of them until Raducanu did it, and Martina Navratilova certainly took notice. She was present at the event as an analyst and finally got a chance to meet Raducanu face-to-face.
As Navratilova made some sharp comments about her in the past, Raducanu took the chance to remind her of that. Some time ago, the former American player criticized the Brit for not being fit enough.
"I don’t think she’s fit enough, her forehand looks a bit dodgy, she’s not hitting through the ball."
Now, they got to meet in Cincinnati, and Navratilova had many more words of praise for Raducanu after her stunning wins.
"We saw the quality of your game last year at the US Open. We haven't seen that form since then. Now, you've clicked back-to-back matches."
Raducanu obviously saw previous comments from the retired legend, and she made her aware with a quick comment.
"Yeah I know, you’ve made me really aware of my past 12 months, Martina."