John McEnroe criticized for ‘harsh’ comments about Emma Raducanu’s Wimbledon retirement

Nothing much was going right for Emma Raducanu, Britain’s budding tennis star, in her late-evening match Monday on Wimbledon’s Court 1. Trailing Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4, 3-0, Raducanu retired because of breathing difficulties, a circumstance that prompted John McEnroe to speculate that she had been overwhelmed by the moment. And that opinion prompted swift and angry condemnation.

“I feel bad for Emma, obviously,” McEnroe, now an ESPN analyst who advanced to a Wimbledon quarterfinal against Jimmy Connors when he was an 18-year-old amateur in 1977, told the BBC, according to the Guardian. “It appears it just got a little bit too much, as is understandable, particularly with what we’ve been talking about this over the last six weeks with [Naomi] Osaka not even here.

“How much can players handle? It makes you look at the guys that have been around and the girls for so long – how well they can handle it. Hopefully she’ll learn from this experience.”

Raducanu had sought medical treatment during the match, and later the All England Club announced that she had retired because of difficulty breathing.

“Maybe it’s not a shame this has happened right now when she is 18,” McEnroe said. “I played this tournament at 18 and in a way I was happy I lost. I was able to understand what it would take to make it.”

In a statement she posted Tuesday on Twitter, Raducanu said “the whole experience caught up” with her and she had felt dizzy. By Tuesday, she said she had recovered.

“I think that in the moment, I mean on Court 1, the atmosphere was once again so incredible to play in front of,” she said in a BBC interview Tuesday with Sue Barker. “I’m obviously very disappointed I couldn’t finish the match. The medical advice was to pull out, and I followed it because I think their advice was the best, in the end.”

Raducanu said the problem with her breathing “was emphasized by some very long rallies toward the end of the first set, which made it tough for me to keep my composure. At the beginning of the second set was when I struggled with it the most, I made the decision at the end of the changeover to call for the trainer.

“I don’t know what caused it. I think it was a combination of everything that has gone on behind the scenes in the last week. A culmination of the excitement, the buzz. I think it’s a great learning experience for me going forward. Hopefully next time, I’ll be better prepared.”

McEnroe’s comments, particularly the mention of Osaka, the 23-year-old star who withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon to concentrate on her mental health, were a step too far for many.

Christian Day, a former rugby star, tweeted that McEnroe sounded “like the ex player who now sits at the corner of the clubhouse bar and tells anyone who’ll listen that they’re crap compared to his day.” Broadcaster Harriet Minter wondered on Twitter “why this middle-aged bore [is] so triggered by this young woman” and went on to add, “Is there anything more annoying than a man telling a woman she’s not hurt she’s just emotional? No, no there isn’t. Please ask him to stop.”

Andy Murray’s mother, Judy, tweeted a bit of advice: “Middle-aged men should generally avoid commenting on the physical or mental well-being of teenage girls. They will NEVER experience or fully understand that world.”

Among those who were critical of McEnroe’s speculation was Raducanu’s opponent. “I wasn’t 100% [certain] what was wrong with Emma,” Tomljanovic noted, but added, “I can’t imagine being in her shoes at 18, playing a fourth-round [match] in your home country. For him to say that, it’s definitely harsh. I have experienced something similar. I know it’s a real thing. It’s not easy.”

On ESPN earlier Tuesday morning, Chris Evert noted that she had the same sort of issue when she was playing in the 18-and-under bracket at Wimbledon. “I started hyperventilating and I couldn’t breathe as well on the grass courts,” she said. “I had to blow into a paper bag to get my breath. This week has been like a roller coaster for [Raducanu] and she’s a schoolgirl. she’s only 18.”

Raducanu’s match started late Monday, at roughly 9 p.m., and McEnroe as well as others felt that was a contributing factor. “I don’t think it helped that the previous match went as long as it did because it made her think about it more,” he said. “That’s a lot to take on, especially when you’ve never been there before.”

A lengthy men’s match forced her match to start late and Ashleigh Barty, who was to face the winner Tuesday, had finished her match 6.5 hours before Raducanu’s began.

For Raducanu, “it was a new experience – playing under the roof, with the lights. It was definitely louder and hotter,” she told Barker. “I think that I was prepared to go out there whatever time of day I was required to. I was so excited. I didn’t find a problem with it, at all. Just to be able to have the opportunity to go onto Court 1 was something I cherished and appreciated. There was no problem.”

In a statement Tuesday, Wimbledon officials noted that tennis is a sport played without a clock and the tournament is also at the mercy of weather gods.

“We were sad to see Emma forced to withdraw from her match last night and wish her all the best with her recovery. She should be commended for the poise and maturity she has shown throughout the fortnight [of play] and we very much look forward to welcoming her back next year and in the years to come.

“In respect of scheduling, as always the scheduling of the order of play each day is a complex operation and although we take great care when scheduling matches and allocating courts on a daily basis, it is not an exact science. All decisions are made with fairness and the best interests of the tournament, players, spectators . . . but the unpredictable nature of the length of matches and the weather can and will cause disruption to any schedule.”

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The Washington Post’s Liz Clarke contributed to this report from London.

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