More than 700 days after her last appearance on grass, Emma Raducanu made a successful start to her 2024 campaign on the surface, defeating Ena Shibahara 6-1, 6-4 in just over an hour. Despite the victory, Raducanu expressed strong dissatisfaction with the umpiring, particularly with chair umpire Ana Carvalho.
Raducanu’s frustration stemmed from several overturned calls that favored Shibahara, with one instance leading to a heated argument. She felt that Shibahara’s reactions influenced the umpire’s decisions.
“I mean, I feel like I was playing two v one on court, it was insane,” Raducanu said. “I would have used probably at least four challenges!”
Raducanu highlighted the lack of Hawk-Eye technology at the WTA 250 event as a significant issue. She remarked that the questionable calls seemed to be consistently against her but took solace in overcoming the adversity.
“It is difficult when there is no challenge but it is something everyone has to deal with,” she noted. “You can be fortunate in some ways, maybe it was just trying to make the match more competitive, it was 6-1 and 5-1 and all of a sudden first point serving at 5-3 it’s a really bad line call.”
Despite the umpiring challenges, Raducanu was pleased with her performance and attitude, managing to stay focused and secure the win.
“Today I felt they were all against me but it just makes me feel better that I managed to beat her and the umpire as well,” she added.
Reflecting on the broader issue, Raducanu acknowledged the added drama that linesmen bring to the game but admitted it can be extremely frustrating for players.
“I feel this year Hawk-Eye has been a little bit off – I don’t know why,” she said. “I think there is a beauty in having all the linesmen and it does add to the drama for the spectators. For us, it can be the most frustrating thing ever.”
Following her win, Raducanu is set to face Daria Snigur, who recently upset fellow Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk. Raducanu’s victory in the first round elevated her 16 places to No. 193 in the WTA Rankings, and a second-round win could further boost her position by ten places.
Raducanu in Nottingham, ranking, and results in 2024
WWWLWWLLWW Ranked world no.209, the Brit owns a composed 10-7 match record in 2024. Raducanu is playing at the moment in Nottingham where she beat the world no.274 Ena Shibahara 6-1 6-4.
Emma Raducanu will fight against the world no.127 Daria Snigur in the 2nd round on Thursday at 12:30 pm on Centre Court. They have never competed against each other till now on the main tour.
Emma Raducanu |
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