Tennis rival's brilliant act for Emma Raducanu amid criticism

Spanish World No.4 Paula Badosa has called for Emma Raducanu's critics to stop putting pressure on the youngster ahead of Wimbledon.

Raducanu is under an injury cloud ahead of Wimbledon after retiring injured in the First Round of her Nottingham clash with a side strain.

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The reigning US Open winner withdrew from Eastbourne as a result and is in a race to be fit for Wimbledon.

Her home grand slam is where she became a household name in the UK after her charge to the Round of 16 in 2021.

And as the British public wait to hear if the home favourite will be competing at SW19 in 2022, Badosa has called for Raducanu's criticism to be toned down.

Raducanu has struggled with from ever becoming the first qualifier ever to win the US Open.

She has also gone through a number of coaches since winning the US Open, which has drawn plenty of criticism, as she looks to improve her game.

And Badosa mentioned that her critics have been too tough on the teenager who has only recently joined the WTA Tour.

“I mean her situation is very tough and she already did amazing things in this sport at a very young age,” Badosa said at the Eastbourne International press conference.

“I think most of the people are tough on her, but on the other side, maybe I can understand because [the] press is [the] press.

"She needs time and I think she needs more experience on tour and she will get it, but I think people have to stop putting all this pressure on her and expectations.

“What she did is play very, very well at one Grand Slam and she won it, so you can see how good she is but you cannot expect her to win every match and tournament because that is impossible.

"She needs time and she will get it because she has a lot of talent.”

Last week, Andy Murray also weighed-in and said the public need to afford Raducanu some leeway after such a rapid rise to superstardom.

Wimbledon hopefuls Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray train

Ahead of Wimbledon, both Raducanu and Murray were spotted training on site as the tennis world waits to hear if either will be participating at SW19.

Murray is in a similar position as Raducanu, after reaching the Stuttgart Open final against Mateo Berrettini only to suffer an injury.

Last Monday, Murray confirmed he had strained his left abdominal and withdrew from Queen's.

But Murray appears to be on the comeback trail as Wimbledon posted a photo of the three-time grand slam champion training ahead of his comeback.

Footage showed Murray running around on the court.

Raducanu was also photographed getting into the swing of things ahead of the grand slam.

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