Emma Raducanu said she was unaware there would be a general election vote on Thursday and said she would sleep in.
The 21-year-old former U.S. Open champion was asked about her plans after defeating Belgium’s Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-2 on Wednesday to advance to the third round at Wimbledon.
At a news conference, Raducanu was asked if he would vote before Thursday’s practice and if he would focus on the election in the evening. “No,” she replied with a smile. “I think I’ll take a nap and then practice again.
“Honestly, I didn’t even know today was tomorrow! Thank you for letting me know.
Raducanu, who will face Greek ninth seed Maria Sakkari on Friday, is not the only British player to say she will focus on tennis this week.
Britain’s top-ranked Katie Boult was asked if she would vote ahead of Thursday’s second-round match against fellow Briton Harriet Dutt. “For me, I have to stick to tennis now,” the 27-year-old told a news conference after her first-round win over Germany’s Tagana Maria on Tuesday.
“At the moment I don’t see myself being involved in anything other than tennis. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.
Britain’s No. 2 Dutt, 27, was also asked if he would have a chance to vote on Thursday. “I didn’t think about it too much,” she replied with a smile. “My sister works for Congress, though. I’m sure she’ll be pushing me to vote. But yeah, we’ll see.
Meanwhile, UK number one Jack Draper was asked on Wednesday if he was interested in politics and he simply replied: “No.”
After defeating Sweden’s Elias Immel in a five-set thriller, the 22-year-old from Sutton was also asked if he would watch any news ahead of Thursday’s election.
“No,” Draper replied. “No. It’s a crazy busy time for us tennis players. Not a lot of TV watching. Not a lot of time to think about it.
