John McEnroe has sent his best wishes to Emma Raducanu after the British No.1 was forced to pull out of Wimbledon before her first-round match due to a stress fracture in her lower right leg. The world No.33 withdrew on the eve of her home Grand Slam, a blow that came just weeks after her impressive run to the final of Queens, where she lost in three sets to Croatia's Donna Vekic.
Raducanu's Injury Woes Continue
Raducanu subsequently withdrew from the WTA 250 event in Nottingham the week after her performance on the grass courts of west London. Injury concerns mounted when she was seen with strapping on her lower right leg in the build-up to Wimbledon before ending a practice session early. Fears were slightly allayed when she told journalists in her pre-match press conference that she planned to play, but news of her withdrawal dropped on the Sunday evening before Wimbledon began. Raducanu, who was seeded 30th, was due to start her campaign on the first Monday against Croatia's Antonia Ruzic on Court One.
McEnroe's Comments on British Tennis Stars
McEnroe shared his thoughts on Raducanu and several other British stars on his BBC Radio 5 Live radio show alongside Tim Henman and Marion Bartoli. The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion was speaking about Arthur Fery's remarkable run to the semi-finals of SW19 as a qualifier. He said: "Thank god for Arthur Fery in a way! Jack Draper, last year he came in as the fourth seed and I thought last year was the first year he could win a major. Been a total nightmare since. Emma's continuing to have these problems and can't stay healthy. We hope she gets healthy soon. Carlos, most of all, I was depressed when I heard the news he was out of France and then Wimbledon. It's been horrible. We hope he comes back healthy and better than ever. Didn't he just turn 23? 22 or 23, either way."
Comparisons to Raducanu's US Open Victory
When asked if Fery winning Wimbledon would be better than Raducanu's famous 2021 US Open victory as a qualifier, McEnroe added: "Similar, they're pretty close." Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Henman, who was courtside in New York when Raducanu beat Leylah Fernandez five years ago to become the first qualifier in Open Era history to win a major, said: "It's in the same league isn't it? Fery's had more professional tennis experience. Raducanu made fourth round of Wimbledon a couple months before but her coming from qualifying like that... There's a long way for Fery to go yet!"
