Emma Raducanu match interrupted after 26 minutes as players left waiting on court | Tennis | Sport
Emma Raducanu‘s quarter-final match at the Queen’s Club was interrupted when several planes made their way back from Trooping the Colour. The West Kensington tennis club is on the Heathrow flight path, and jets started flying back from Buckingham Palace while the British No. 1 was serving at 2-2 in the first set, less than half an hour into the match.
It had already been a tense match, with both players breaking each other early on. And while Raducanu was serving in the fifth game, she had to pause her motion when a plane flew directly over the Andy Murray Arena, so low that its engine was too loud to play through.
Once the first plane flew off, the world No. 42 tried to resume the game, but another one quickly flew overhead. The fans in the stands gasped as jets continued to glide past, disappearing behind the clubhouse.
Raducanu and Rakhimova could only wait, standing at the baseline and watching. Then, the Red Arrows came past, earning plenty of applause from the fans – and from Raducanu.
By then, it was game point on the Brit’s serve. And the delay didn’t bother her, as she held to love and then pumped her fist, smiling and laughing as she headed back to her bench.
From there, momentum was on her side. Potentially inspired by the Red Arrows, the 23-year-old broke to love in the next game, and then extended her lead to 5-2.
Raducanu quickly served out the opening set 6-3, inching closer to a maiden semi-final at Queen’s. And she won’t want to make a meal of this match, as the winner will return in just a few hours’ time to face No. 6 seed Iva Jovic, already through to the last four.
The British No. 1 had been set to face Rakhimova in the last match of the day on Friday. But play on the Andy Murray Arena went long, and by 7.45pm, organisers made the decision to cancel and postpone their quarter-final.
Play had initially been set to start at 1.30pm on Saturday – meaning no interruption from the planes – but Raducanu vs Rakhimova was scheduled for 12.30pm. That didn’t stop the fans from turning up and packing out the stands, though.
Katie Boulter will face Donna Vekic in the first semi-final, before Jovic meets either Raducanu or Rakhimova.
