New day, new controversy! Tennis fans are no strangers to the sport’s dramatic twists and turns, and the latest clash promises to be just as thrilling. British tennis star Emma Raducanu has spiced things up with a cheeky retort aimed at none other than Judy, the mother of Andy Murray, in what seems to be a veiled attack. And it all started with two words!

Raducanu is currently playing at the Washington Open after she decided to withdraw from the Paris Olympics, to avoid transitioning challenges. She won the first match of the championship after which she put a series of pictures on her Instagram. And this was where the controversy started to embroil.

Commenting on her post, Frances Tiafoe asked her for a mixed doubles partnership at the event. “Mixed…”, the American star wrote. Responding to this, the Brit star wrote “Astonishing 🤣” in a similar tone to Judy. Earlier, Murray appeared to criticize the WTA star after she decided to withdraw from the mixed doubles at Wimbledon. 

For the unversed, Murray was set to participate in the mixed doubles with Raducanu in his final Wimbledon campaign. However, the 21-year-old decided to withdraw from the category ahead of the first-round match citing soreness in her right wrist. This decision marked the end of Judy’s son’s career at SW19, which seemed to annoy the 64-year-old. Commenting on sports broadcaster Marcus Buckland’s tweet that expressed astonishment over Raducanu’s decision, Judy had written,

“Yes, astonishing.” Remember, Andy Murray is playing the final tournament of his career with the legendary player set to retire after the Olympics. Many took this as a swipe against the young 2021 US Open champion. However, she had clarified herself later with yet another tweet that claimed her previous response to be sarcasm. “Not sure anyone understands sarcasm these days.” But despite this, Raducanu seems to have not forgotten the flak and controversy that she had to go through as a result of her decision. 

For Raducanu, it will be interesting to see if this comment takes yet another ugly turn and if she receives more backlash over her remarks. But as for her ongoing campaign at Washington, the Brit is facing some peculiar difficulties.

Raducanu reveals a serious challenge at Citi Open

Emma played against Belgium’s Elise Mertens in the first round of her Washington Open match. But while she won the match in three sets with the scoreline that read 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, she seemed to be in trouble due to jetlag. Speaking after winning the match, Raducanu revealed the challenges she faced on Tuesday.

“I was playing some pretty good tennis in patches throughout, especially in the first set and moments in the third set. I lost some focus in the second. It’s not easy playing at 11.30pm. I got here on Thursday night so I’m still jet lagged.” However, the 21-year-old kept her resilience intact. “I was telling myself, “I’m not leaving. This is not happening. You’re not losing this match!”

While only time will tell if Raducanu benefits from her decision to skip the Paris Olympics or not, the US Open is definitely what the Brit must be eyeing at the moment. Can she lift another title at Flushing Meadows? Will have to figure it out.