Andy Murray‘s mother, Judy Murray, clarified her tweet, which many tennis fans deciphered as a direct attack on Emma Raducanu following her withdrawal from mixed doubles.
Raducanu divided opinions on social media on Saturday after her late withdrawal from the mixed doubles match she was slated to play with Murray later that evening.
The three-time Grand Slam champion was appearing in his final Wimbledon but was not fully fit to play in singles. Andy, therefore, chose to compete in the men’s doubles tournament with brother Jamie and mixed doubles with Raducanu.
His doubles campaign with his older brother ended at the first hurdle on Thursday, as they lost to the Australian pair of Rinky Hijikata and John Peers.
Murray, nonetheless, was recognized by the tournament for his two decades of professionalism and dedication in a special on-court ceremony on Centre Court in front of tennis legends of the past and present.
He still believed he had at least one more match to play until Raducanu withdrew from their mixed doubles match because of a stiff wrist, leaving his mother, Judy, furious on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
“Not sure anyone understands sarcasm these days. Pretty sure the scheduling (4th match court 1 with a singles following day) will have played a major part in any decision making.”
But the 64-year-old mother of two has since clarified her initial tweet, in which she branded Raducanu’s decision as “astonishing.” Judy admitted in a follow-up post that she was being sarcastic.
She also felt that the tournament’s scheduling of her son’s mixed doubles match was partly to blame for Raducanu’s withdrawal, as she was slated to play a highly important singles match the following day.
The 21-year-old former US Open champion has come under a barrage of criticism, but several onlookers believe she is justified in making such a call, considering that she had undergone double surgery on her wrists last year and was reportedly practicing with strapping on Saturday.
