Emma Raducanu’s opponent has ‘astonish’ printed on her top after Judy Murray dig | Tennis | Sport

Raducanu and Murray received a wildcard into the mixed doubles draw to form an exciting, British Grand Slam-winning team in what was the Scot’s final appearance at Wimbledon. But their campaign was over before it started as the 21-year-old pulled out on Saturday hours before they were scheduled to play on Court 1, announcing that she woke up with a stiff wrist.

The former world No. 10 understandably wanted to take precautions ahead of her fourth-round singles match on Sunday. But the decision didn’t go down well with some. And one remark from Andy’s mum came back to haunt Raducanu when she stepped onto Centre Court to face qualifier Sun.

The Kiwi had some sponsor logos printed on her match shirt but one of them was front and centre – a bold, blue logo for the cleaning company Astonish. It was an unfortunate coincidence, as it was the exact phrase Judy Murray used in a subtle dig to Raducanu on Saturday.

The tennis coach replied to sports presenter Marcus Buckland when he shared his surprise at the news of Raducanu’s mixed doubles withdrawal. “Astonishing news that Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from her mixed doubles match with Andy Murray. She’s citing soreness in her right wrist. It means Murray has played his last match at Wimbledon. Oh dear!” Buckland tweeted.

Judy replied: “Yes, astonishing.” The tweet quickly went viral as many took it as criticism of Raducanu’s late decision. The mother of Andy and Jamie posted a timely Instagram story a few hours later, sharing a quote from Serena Williams reflecting on her own mixed doubles outing with Andy in 2019.

It read: “Playing mixed doubles by your side was one of the highlights of my life. I’m so grateful I had that experience.” Some thought it was a message to Raducanu, who gave up the chance to team up with Murray ahead of his retirement later this summer.