Judy Murray, Andy Murray has come under fire for appearing to question grand slam champion Emma Raducanu‘s decision to withdraw from her Wimbledon mixed doubles tie with her son.
Murray has announced he will retire from tennis after Paris 2024, with his mixed doubles campaign with Raducanu to be his final at Wimbledon.
He withdrew from the singles draw before the tournament began after having surgery to remove a cyst from his spine on June 22, and had already been knocked out of the men’s doubles draw which he had entered with his brother Jamie.
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But just hours before the pair were to scheduled to take to the court, Raducanu pulled out of their first-round match with wrist soreness.
Andy Murray after losing his men’s doubles first-round match. Shi Tang via Getty Images
“Unfortunately I woke up with some stiffness in my right wrist this morning, so therefore I have decided to make the very tough decision to withdraw from the mixed doubles tonight,” Raducanu said.
“I’m disappointed as I was really looking forward to playing with Andy but I’ve got to take care.”
Raducanu won the 2021 US Open as a qualifier at age 18, and her career has since been sidetracked by a series of injuries. She had procedures on both of her wrists and an ankle in 2023.
Replying to a post on X announcing the news of the withdrawal, Judy Murray said: “Yes, astonishing”.
The backlash to the comment was swift, with many fans believing Murray was suggesting Raducanu potentially jeopardise her own singles campaign to give her son a farewell match.
At major touraments, players regularly enter singles and both doubles draws, and withdraw from doubles if their singles campaigns are strong enough.
After the Murray brothers were knocked out of the men’s doubles draw, the All England Club staged a post-match tribute to Murray’s career. The celebrations included a four-minute highlight video with tributes from Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams.
Tournament organisers made the prescient decision to hold the special ceremony after that match — rather than waiting until after he played mixed doubles — just in case Murray and Raducanu ended up not competing together.
Because the brackets were already set for mixed doubles with the official draw, Murray was not allowed to find a new partner so he could stay in that event.
Katie Volynets and Rajeev Ram were elevated to the mixed doubles field to substitute for Raducanu and Murray, and will face the pairing of Zhang Shuai and Marcelo Arevalo.
Murray’s 2013 title at Wimbledon made him the first British man in 77 years to win the singles championship at the tournament. He won the trophy again in 2016.
Murray also triumphed at the 2012 US Open and finished 2016 at No.1 in the ATP rankings. He also won two Olympic golds at the London and Rio Games and led Britain to a Davis Cup title.
Australian tennis great Todd Woodbridge said Murray was retiring as a “legend”.
“For somebody to have to deal with all the press and the media and the expectations of being British, it’s tough,” he said on Nine’s Wide World of Sports.
“You win two Wimbledons a couple of Olympic (golds), US Open, world No.1, there’s not much left that he didn’t achieve.
“It’s not the way he wanted to bow out, but at least he did get to bow out on the Centre Court, a place that he owned. It was really his turf there for a couple of years.
“It was a special moment and it’s sad that he’s gone. We’re losing a few of what have been the big players in our game, but that’s what happens.”