Emma Raducanu has revealed that she sent Andy Murray a long message after withdrawing from their scheduled mixed doubles match at Wimbledon last year to ensure there was no bad blood between them. Speaking after her second-round victory over Amanda Anisimova at the Australian Open, Raducanu said she wanted to clear the air with the former world number one, whom she has long looked up to.
“Afterwards I sent him a long message, basically: ‘If I caused any trouble I guess at Wimbledon, that’s definitely the last thing I want,’” Raducanu said. “He’s someone that I’ve grown up looking up to and I don’t want any bad blood or harsh feelings with him.” She added that Murray responded well, saying he was disappointed but understood, and that they are now on good terms.
Raducanu’s withdrawal, citing stiffness in her right wrist, effectively ended Murray’s Grand Slam career and became a major talking point at the tournament. The situation was further inflamed when Judy Murray, Andy’s mother, described it as “astonishing” on social media, though she later clarified it was sarcasm and blamed scheduling.
“I really wanted to smooth things over,” Raducanu said. “Whether or not I can go back and turn back time and do things differently, that’s in the past. All I can do is evaluate that and learn going forwards. I wanted to take the initiative, because growing up, he was one of my idols, and he still is.”
On Thursday, Raducanu reached the third round of the Australian Open for the first time with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Anisimova. She will next face second seed Iga Swiatek. Raducanu said that when she crossed paths with Murray at Melbourne Park, he congratulated her on the win. “I saw Andy today, and he said, ‘Well done’ and congratulated me. That was really nice,” she said. “It’s good to have that pat on the back from him.”
