Emma Raducanu transcript as she gives 58-word press conference ahead of Madrid Open – not a ‘big deal’, says Chris Evert
James Walker-Roberts
ByJames Walker-Roberts
Updated 26/04/2023 at 13:11 GMT+1
Emma Raducanu was not in the mood for talking during a press conference ahead of the Madrid Open as she gave short answers to every question asked. The British No. 1 said just 58 words during the press conference ahead of her scheduled opening match against world No. 73 Viktoriya Tomova. Raducanu did not play the match as she pulled out with a hand injury.
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Sixteen questions. Fifty-eight words.
That was the sum of Emma Raducanu’s pre-tournament press conference ahead of the Madrid Open.
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The British No. 1 was set to play in the first round against world No. 73 Viktoriya Tomova on Wednesday afternoon, but withdrew hours before the match due to a hand injury.
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The withdrawal means Raducanu is set to drop out of the top 100 for the first time since her 2021 US Open win.
Raducanu, who dropped to world No. 85 following defeat to Jelena Ostapenko in the first round in Stuttgart, could be left needing a wild card to qualify for Wimbledon if her ranking continues to fall.
The 20-year-old was seemingly not in the mood for talking ahead of playing in Madrid, as she dead-batted questions in a press conference about her wrist injury, her recent results, and the form of her friend Jodie Burrage.
The press conference lasted just a few minutes as Raducanu gave short answers to every question.
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Here’s how the exchange with the media went, as reported by the Daily Mail:
Hi Emma, how’s it going?
Good, how are you?
Fine, thanks. How is your physical state this week?
It’s OK.
Wrists?
It’s OK.
Have you been doing anything different with them?
No.
When you say OK, Emma, do you mean, like, everything is hunky-dory or…?
We’re managing it.
You’re managing it, so it’s kind of still there?
Yeah, OK.
But bubbling under…Obviously we weren’t in Stuttgart, watched some of the match on TV, but was it a factor in that? Or was Jelena Ostapenko – she does have days when she blows hit – it did look one of those days when she has the bit between her teeth.
She played very well.
Was that the determining factor of the match?
I think she played a great match.
So, where are you at the moment? Do you feel…We were in Miami it was close, if you had won those break points in the first game of the third set I think you might have won, so that was presumably quite encouraging after Indian Wells?
Yeah it was a good trip in America, tough match. But yeah, moving on.
What do you think about your draw here?
It is what it is.
picture
Emma Raducanu
Image credit: Getty Images
I guess it’s possible you could play Jodie Burrage if she won today. She’s one of your friends isn’t she?
Yeah.
So is it nice to see her on the up?
Yeah of course.
Do you want to say anything about Jodie, as we are trying to manage an interview here?
Yeah, I like her.
You like Jodie?
Yeah, good player.
Anything about her climb up the rankings?
It’s great.
You’re not making this very easy. Is this deliberate, that you don’t want to make this too easy for us?
No.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the press conference was then ended by a WTA official.
Former world No. 1 Chris Evert said Raducanu’s short responses were not a “big deal”.
“In her defence, every one of us has had a day, or a press conference like thi
s… don’t make it such a big deal,” Evert wrote on Twitter.
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