Andy Murray’s mother Judy appears to be unhappy with Emma Raducanu’s decision to pull out of the mixed doubles event with her son, with the decision ending his hopes of a final appearance at Wimbledon.
There had been great anticipation about Britain’s two most high-profile players teaming up to give Murray a final swansong at the All England Club.
They were scheduled to play Zhang Shuai and Marcelo Arevalo in the fourth match on Court One on Saturday but Raducanu withdrew several hours before.
A statement read: “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.
“I’m disappointed as I was really looking forward to playing with Andy but got to take care.”
That decision does not seem to have gone down well with Judy Murray, who responded to a message from broadcaster Marcus Buckland expressing his disappointment over Raducanu’s decision to withdraw from the mixed doubles by backing up his sentiments with two words as she wrote on X: “Yes, astonishing’.
Raducanu is due to play her fourth-round singles match on Sunday against Lulu Sun, and she is understandably cautious about pushing her body too far having undergone surgery on both wrists and one ankle last year, keeping her out for eight months.
It will be a huge disappointment to ticket-holders and also to Murray, whose career was celebrated on Centre Court on Thursday after a first-round men’s doubles defeat alongside his brother Jamie.
The Scot insisted afterwards that there will be no change of heart, saying: “I know that it’s time now. I’m ready for that.”
He will head off on a family holiday before preparing for the final event of his career at the Olympics in Paris, where he is entered in singles and doubles with Dan Evans.
Meanwhile, Raducanu is likely to come under fire after pulling out of the tournament just a few days after she agreed to play with Murray and ending his hopes of a final match at the All England Club.
The pair had been scheduled fourth on Court One on Saturday, leaving Raducanu fearing she may not be able to watch England’s clash with Switzerland.
“The scheduling of that was not ideal,” said the British number three, who warmed up in an England shirt ahead of the previous match.
“It’s just an amazing opportunity to be able to play with him. It’s something that I’m going to cherish.”
She gave no hint that she would pull out of the mixed doubles in her press conference on Friday night, but there will now be concern that her wrist problem could threaten her hopes of pushing on for more glory in the singles.
The draw has opened up invitingly but Raducanu, who again found inspiration in following Carlos Alcaraz on to court, remains determined not to look too far ahead, saying: “I think staying present in the moment is what got me this far. I’m not going to start changing anything.
“I was able to turn some scorelines in the game around, being 15-40. I think that’s the best way for me to approach it. I think also for me to be winning that match against a top-10 opponent on Centre Court, it’s a beautiful feeling and one that I really want to savour.
“Tennis is pretty brutal in the way you have to enjoy it tonight and then tomorrow you’re already thinking about the next one. You can win the tournament but you can lose first round the next week. It’s the sport. I’m just trying to cherish every moment I have here.”
I think Emma did the right thing. We all love Andy but this match was nothing really compared to what can happen for Emma. I’m sure Andy doesn’t bear a grudge like his mum has. Emma has been caught in between doing the right thing and the time now is her time to go forward in her tennis career. Bad timing really but can’t be helped x