Judy Murray has attempted to clear the air after she appeared to take a swipe at Emma Raducanu on social media.
Raducanu, 21, withdrew from her mixed doubles campaign alongside 'idol' Andy Murray on Saturday just hours before they were due to play their first match. The Brit said that she'd woken up with stiffness in her right wrist which she had surgery on last year.
Her decision means that due to his absence from the men's singles and after losing in the doubles alongside brother Jamie, two-time Wimbledon champion Murray won't ever play at the event again, as there wasn't time for him to find a new partner. The 37-year-old is expected to retire following this summer's Olympic Games in Paris and fans had hoped to see him make a final bow at SW19.
However, Raducanu hasn't pulled out of the women's singles competition ahead of facing Lulu Sun on Sunday in the last 16. After Raducanu announced her withdrawal from just the mixed doubles, Judy took to social media and described it as 'astonishing'.
After receiving criticism from tennis fans, she now claims that her post on X, formerly Twitter, was merely sarcastic.
"Not sure anyone understands sarcasm these days," Judy wrote to her 300,000-plus followers on Sunday morning, having briefly turned her account private amid the scrutiny. "Pretty sure the scheduling (4th match court 1 with a singles following day) will have played a major part in any decision making."
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Murray and Raducanu's clash with El Salvador's Marcelo Arevalo and Zhang Shuai of China was scheduled to be the last match of the day on Court 1, starting at approximately 6pm. Meanwhile, Raducanu's round-of-16 match against Sun is due to begin around 4pm on Sunday, giving her less than 24 hours to recover.
The former US Open champion gave a statement on Saturday afternoon which read: "Unfortunately I woke up with some stiffness in my right wrist this morning, so I have taken the very tough decision to withdraw from the mixed doubles. I' m disappointed as I was really looking forward to playing with Andy, but I've got to take care."
Your turn! Should Emma Raducanu have played in the mixed doubles? Give us your verdict in the comments section
Murray's mum is continuing to receive flack from fans, having blocked direct replies on her latest post. "We know it wasn't sarcasm @JudyMurray - Brits understand sarcasm," one follower wrote.
"It was perhaps an understandably disappointed mother making an ill-judged comment about a young player prioritising the start of her career over the end of a legends... Take it down and apologise."
A second said: "Just apologise. You've done so much for tennis especially women's tennis, don't beat a young woman down, I'm sure the decision to not play wasn't an easy one."
Noting the time between Judy's two posts, a third added: "If it was anything other than an attack on Raducanu, it wouldn't have taken 18 hours to clarify."