‘To Hell With These People’ – John McEnroe Had Some Things to Say to Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu surprised the entire tennis fraternity with her fairytale run at the 2021 US Open. Entering the tournament as a qualifier, she defeated Canada’s Leylah Fernandez to clinch her maiden Grand Slam title. It was made all the more special after she didn’t lose a single set en route to the title. Following this victory, she entered the top 25 of the WTA rankings, having been in the 150th spot before the tournament.

However, the British star has failed to replicate her magic this year. The 19-year-old has had an inconsistent run across tournaments. Her best result has been a quarterfinal appearance at Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Recently, tennis legend John McEnroe highlighted the possible reason behind Raducanu’s slump.

John McEnroe talks about Raducanu’s disappointing run this year

The American tennis legend felt that the US Open champion might be affected by the hype and media pressure from the British press. Further, talking on this subject, McEnroe said, “I got this to a fairly significant degree in the late 1970s and early 80s. It got to the stage that I thought if I ever win Wimbledon I’m never coming back, to hell with these people. It so happened when I won it first the first time that I felt I could fly out of the stadium because the high was so great and I thought maybe I want to come back.”

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Further, he went on to add, “It may be worse for [Emma Raducanu] because she is living it day in, day out. But I am pulling for her. We all are. Maybe she can use that to her advantage somehow.”

Emma Raducanu had a disappointing Wimbledon campaign

In the recently concluded grass-court Grand Slam tournament, Raducanu lost in the second round against Caroline Garcia of France. Although Raducanu was the tenth seed at the tournament and the local favorite to win the tournament, she couldn’t make an impact on her home Grand Slam.

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Now, Raducanu will hope to come back stronger in the upcoming hard-court season and retain her US Open title.