Emma Raducanu has issued an explanation and apology after a viral post on X accused the British tennis player of refusing to take a selfie with a little girl who came to watch her practice.
On Thursday evening in New York, Raducanu had a practice session at Flushing Meadows. Later, one person who was on the scene reported that the 2021 US Open champion abruptly finished her practice and pretty much stormed off the court – which left many stunned.
“Emma Raducanu walked off grandstand. Declined to be interviewed or sign any signatures,” a person wrote on X.
In a post that followed, it was claimed that the on-court interviewer let Raducanu know that there was a kid just wanting a selfie and asked if she could at least fulfill that: “A little kid who was being interviewed said in the cutest voice, my favorite player is Emma Raducanu and the court interviewer tried to at least get her to take a pic with that little kid and she declined.”
One person came to Raducanu’s defense, saying that players are not mandated to give attention to fans.
But the user who made the initial claims wasn’t buying it: “It was a little kid no more than 8 years old who while Emma was practicing, was interviewed by a USO staff member and said Emma was her favorite player. She didn’t need to sign or take pics with everyone but she could have at least taken one with her IMO.”
‘Raducanu wasn’t in the mood…’ – the Briton responds
Another person asked if the 21-year-old Briton was injured or just wasn’t in the mood.
“Not in the mood. Walked off immediately and even the court interviewer was shocked. She basically ran off the court,” the response read.
Then, the same suggested that Raducanu didn’t have a good practice and that it may have contributed to the Briton’s unhappiness: “The practice wasn’t the best. Neither her or Amanda were playing well.”
Since the post went viral and it drew negative attention to Raducanu, the former world No. 10 felt the need to address it. In her message, Raducanu confirmed that she heard the little fan but that she “had to rush off the court” and that she could not locate the girl while exiting. Then, the 21-year-old asked people to help her find the fan so she could gift her some souvenirs but also take some selfies.
“To the little girl far up in the stands who said I was her favourite player at this mornings practice, I heard you and it made my heart smile. I’m very sorry I had to rush off after practice and I couldn’t see you near the court but please forgive me and I hope to find a way to meet you or arrange a signed something or photo… Twitter/ X please do your thing and help me find her,” Raducanu wrote on X.
Raducanu faced criticism leading up to the US Open
When the North American hard-court swing started and Raducanu played in the opening week in Washington, everything went well since the former world No. 10 didn’t suffer any injuries and she also reached the quarterfinal.
But then, she surprisingly didn’t get a wildcard for either Toronto or Cincinnati. And while Raducanu didn’t make any public comments, she didn’t take part in qualifying for either tournament. That led to some criticism and scrutiny as the “diva” insults resurfaced and Raducanu had to deal with the same stuff again.
“There is almost a borderline obsession about different elements of her game and where she is going wrong. She hasn’t played in Canada and Cincinnati over the last few weeks… big deal! It’s two tournaments out of 52 weeks, she has played plenty of tournaments this year and she is top 50 in the WTA Race for this year. She is continuing to build and get fitter, stronger and faster. Her game is fantastic. She will be top 20 or top 30 before long, so we need to stop this level of scrutiny,” Henman told Tennis365.
Meanwhile, Raducanu plays Sofia Kenin in the US Open first round.
