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An irresistible three-way tug-of-war between emotion, reason and karma is at the heart of the debate over Emma Raducanu’s decision to cancel her Wimbledon mixed doubles match with Andy Murray , this kind of tug-of-war can only happen in tennis.
After Raducanu confirmed via a Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) statement that she would withdraw from the first round match scheduled for Saturday night, Murray’s mother and first coach Judy ensured she will always be part of the Leaders in the emotional tug of war can achieve this with just 11 clicks on social media. She described Raducanu’s decision to break off her engagement to her son on Court 1, ending his illustrious Wimbledon career at the age of 37, as “shocking”.
Raducanu, who is in her best form at a major since winning the 2021 U.S. Open, said she woke up with a stiff wrist and didn’t want to risk further injury ahead of her fourth-round match against Sun Lulu. A 23-year-old qualifier from New Zealand. They will play at Center Court on Sunday afternoon.
The decision comes days after Raducanu said it would take just seconds to accept Murray’s invitation to join the team. About how she watched him compete and win silver at Wimbledon 2012 with Laura Robson and dreamed of the day she could partner with him.
Murray’s team stressed on Saturday that he was ready to compete and that there were no problems with his recently operated back, which forced him to withdraw from the final men’s singles draw at Wimbledon.
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On the one hand, it’s easy to understand Judy Murray’s emotional reaction to Raducanu’s decision. Her son provided Raducanu an opportunity to share some of the ethereal light of his career. Fight doubts.
His invitation also caught the attention of the British sporting community, which had lost patience with Raducanu’s trajectory. Their frustration stems from some degree of misperception. Last summer, she needed surgery on both wrists (the areas currently affected), derailing her career for more than a year. Winning the U.S. Open as a qualifier at 18 is both extraordinary and remarkable.
Raducanu hasn’t been able to prove that she can be an average tennis player, but also a very good one, as she hasn’t had a real chance yet, and given how injury-prone she seems to be, she could very well be one of them – These players may need to train extensively outside of games to stay as healthy as possible and reach their full potential.
Judy Murray attended her son’s farewell game at Center Court earlier this week (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
The irony of it all is that when Murray was Raducanu’s age, he didn’t have the best reputation either.
For his part, many tennis viewers were skeptical of his often testy demeanor on court. A rising force in the gentleman’s game in the era of Roger Federer, the greatest gentleman of all time, should not behave like this – once he figured out how to stop destroying a racket.
For Judy Murray, adding fuel to the fire that Raducanu has begun to struggle to extinguish is a sign that he has a unique vision for the fortnight’s priorities, for those remaining in the singles draw. Winning championships rather than providing a championship farewell stage.
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For Raducanu, the best way to prove his potential is to make great progress at Wimbledon after surviving the most difficult period of his career.
Setting yourself up for possible failure for a sporting event that is essentially meaningless in the grand scheme of a career is not a good way to go.
Anyone with a reasonable plan to prepare for Raducanu’s match on Sunday wouldn’t have put her on the tennis court late the day before, because the match, while emotional, likely also had a showman’s air to it . They’d put her on the couch, maybe with ice packs on her stiff wrists instead of a racket in her hands.
A token game against Murray at night in front of over 12,000 screaming fans, once you factor in the post-match treatment, eating, going to bed and relaxing.
Raducanu hopes to regain some consistency after a tough spell with injuries (John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images)
It’s not a sound plan to achieve your best results in a Grand Slam since you won it three years ago.
But tennis is not a rational sport; it is an emotional one, filled with unique etiquette norms that players are often reluctant to break for fear of angering the sport’s karmic gods. In the final Wimbledon match of the greatest tennis legend in the history of your country’s tennis, in a week that’s basically been about celebrating him, when you’re only able to get into singles because of a wild card. Seems like a good way to piss them off – or at least Judy Murray, which is never good etiquette.
It’s the essence of good Wimbledon karma to step onto the court with this legend and maybe learn a tip or two on how to win at this place. This seems like a good way to get the game’s mysterious powers on your side.
Raducanu made a decision that she felt was right and best for her tennis at Wimbledon this year.
So do those karma gods really exist? Maybe only if you believe they will.
(Above: Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
