"To be honest, a lot of the time, I don’t read anything, but whenever I hear of anything, it’s 98 per cent not true," - Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu has been in the headlines ever since she won a historic US Open title last year, and her fascinating story continues to capture the imagination of the press as she prepares to defend her title next month.
Over the course of an interview with the Evening Standard, Raducanu sounded cynical with regard to the authenicity of the news put out by the media about her, stating that "98%" of what she hears isn't true.
The teenager also revealed that she did not read anything about her in the press most of the time.
"To be honest, a lot of the time, I don’t read anything, but whenever I hear of anything, it’s 98 per cent not true."
The Brit has often been hounded by the press, most famously by Piers Morgan and John McEnroe, who questioned her mental strength after she withdrew from last year's Wimbledon fourth-round match against Ajla Tomljanovic citing breathing problems.
McEnroe had stated that "it just got too much" after the youngster failed to return to the court with the score at 6-4, 3-0 in favor of her opponent.
"It’s a shame. I feel bad for Emma. It appears like it just got too much, which is understandable. It makes you look at the guys and girls who have been around for so long and wonder how they handle it. Hopefully, she will learn from this experience," suggested McEnroe. Maybe it’s not a shame this has happened right now when she is 18. I played this tournament at 18 and in a way I was happy I lost."
British television personality Piers Morgan appeared to back McEnroe's comments while asserting that the youngster couldn't handle the pressure.
"Ms Raducanu is a talented player but couldn’t handle the pressure and quit when she was losing badly. Not brave, just a shame. If I were her, I’d tell my fans to stop abusing McEnroe, and seek his advice on how to toughen up and become a champion like he was,” Morgan opined.
"To me, he’s always been very kind and generous" - Emma Raducanu on Nick Kyrgios
Emma Raducanu got a lot of flak after she tweeted the initials "NK" in support of Nick Kyrgios and his campaign at Wimbledon and the Australian replied that he appreciated her support.
NK🪄
Raducanu elaborated on the reasons behind the tweet, saying Kyrgios had always been kind and generous to her while offering her support post her withdrawal from Wimbledon.
"To me, he’s always been very kind and generous. He was supporting me after Wimbledon last year, before the US Open, so the way he’s been with me, yeah, he’s been really nice. People definitely want to watch Nick," stated Raducanu during the interview.
Kyrgios came under a storm during Wimbledon after receiving a summons from an Australian court for an alleged assault on his ex-girlfriend last year.
There is a fine line between sporting banter and obnoxious, bad sportsmanship. Kyrgios is currently on the wrong side of it. #Wimbledon2019 #Wimbledon #Nadal
Before going on to finish as the runner-up at SW19, the 27-year-old had his share of on-court controversies which included verbal altercations with the umpires and line judges following an incident-marred contest against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Emma Raducanu, meanwhile, is all set to return to action at the upcoming Citi Open.