Breaking News: Ex-Olympic Champ Criticizes Emma Raducanu Harshly for Avoiding Qualifiers Due to…
Former Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig is urging Emma Raducanu to be more open to playing qualifying events because it won’t make her “any less” and actually can only benefit her because it will provide her much-needed matches and practice.
After making the Washington quarterfinal as a main draw wildcard, Raducanu didn’t get a special invitation from the WTA 1000 tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati. And while it is not officially confirmed that the 2021 US Open champion skipped those two tournaments because she didn’t want to take part in qualifying, the general belief is that exactly that was the case.
Previously, Raducanu decided against competing in the Rome Open and French Open qualifying. Now, the 21-year-old Briton is doing something similar and she is again drawing criticism and scrutiny because some think this is a very unwise thing to be doing leading up to the US Open.
Puig to Raducanu: Don’t shy away…
“We never really have to shy away from qualifying. It doesn’t mean you are less than by any means but getting those extra matches, which Emma I feel like needs at this point to get that momentum going into the US Open. Because let’s call it like it is, practice is practice, but playing in a match situation is something that can’t be replicated in practice and can only be done while competing. Not really sure what the play was here but hopefully she can find her form heading into the US Open,” Puig said on Tennis Channel.
A few days ago, British media revealed that Raducanu decided to leave the United States and get back to London – where she is practicing and doing her last preparations for the final Grand Slam of the year.
That news baffled some but Raducanu evidently feels she is doing the right thing and her US Open run will answer whether all of this was a good or bad decision.
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Iga Swiatek answers if Danielle Collins drama impacted her play in shock Olympic loss
Swiatek got stunned by Zheng Qinwen after a tense situation in the Collins quarterfinal match.
Iga Swiatek has dismissed claims that the dig Danielle Collins took at her had any influence in a shock Paris Olympics semifinal loss, insisting she is a professional and knows how to handle those things.
If you remember well, a tense but also stunning moment happened after Collins retired while 1-4 down to Swiatek in their quarterfinal match at the Summer Games. After retiring due to an abdominal injury and stopping the Pole, the American appeared to say something that left the world No. 1 in disbelief.
Later, world No. 10 Collins called Swiatek “insincere” and shared that she felt the five-time Grand Slam champion was faking to be sorry over her injury.
“I told Iga she didn’t have to be insincere about my injury. There’s a lot that happens on camera, and there are a lot of people with a ton of charisma and come out and are one way on camera and another way in the locker room. And I just haven’t had the best experience, and I don’t really feel like anybody needs to be insincere. They can be the way that they are. I can accept that, and I don’t need the fakeness,” Collins said after the match.
Swiatek on if the Collins drama played any role in the Zheng loss
The following day, Swiatek returned to the court and suffered her first loss at Roland Garros since 2021 after Zheng Qinwen handed her a 6-2 7-5 loss.
“I’m a professional, and things like that don’t affect how I play tennis later on. To this day, I still don’t understand where her comment came from, and I decided there was no point in looking into it. I focused on myself,” Swiatek told SportoweFakty when asked if Collins shading her impacted her play versus Zheng.
During the Zheng match, Swiatek didn’t look like herself at all as she blasted 36 unforced errors en route to losing. But still, Swiatek left Paris with her first Olympic title after beating Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova in the bronze medal match.
Coco Gauff makes deeply honest revelation regarding first Slam win at 2023 US Open
12 months, Gauff saw one of her biggest dreams come true.
Coco Gauff reveals she needed some time to fully grasp what really happened after she became a Grand Slam champion 12 months ago as the American was in “disbelief” after accomplishing one of her biggest goals and dreams.
Before the 2023 season started, Gauff repeated her desire to become a Slam winner during her teenage years. And last September – six months before her 20th birthday – it finally happened after the American tennis star came back from a set down in the final at Flushing Meadows to beat Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-3 6-2.
“I won the US Open and I still just didn’t feel it. It took me a week to actually believe that it had happened. I had found myself like crying or sometimes, not like sadness but like disbelief. I wanted to win a Grand Slam as a teenager so I felt that the clock was just ticking. Yeah I just didn’t expect it. Every tennis player’s dream is to win a Grand Slam so everybody is just giving it there all and I will let you know, when I win a next one, how it goes,” Gauff recounted in a commercial for Baker Tilly US.
It was a game-changer for Gauff
Just two months before her victorious run in New York, Gauff fell to probably her career-lowest point after losing in the Wimbledon first round. At the time, the current world No. 2 was struggling with her game and consistency and it was evident that her progress stopped.
But then, Gauff was able to overcome the mental things that were hampering her for some time and it resulted in a huge North American hard-court swing.
Meanwhile, Gauff is defending her title in Cincinnati this week. After Cincinnati – where Gauff landed her maiden WTA 1000 title last year – the 20-year-old will focus on trying to repeat as US Open champion.
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