LONDON -- John McEnroe, a former tennis star, is being criticized over his reaction to the BBC's broadcast of Emma Raducanu's Wimbledon retirement mid-match.McEnroe is a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion and appears as an analyst for the country's television coverage at The All England Club. McEnroe is also an analyst for ESPN.Raducanu (18 years old) stopped playing after she was trailing in Monday's second set against Ajla Tomljanovic. Raducanu was seen by a trainer and then left the court to take a medical break. The chair umpire eventually announced that Raducanu, 338th in rank, would be leaving the court due to a health problem, but didn't specify why.McEnroe stated to viewers that it appeared the show got too much. This is especially true considering what McEnroe and [Naomi] Osaka have been discussing over the past six weeks.Osaka, who was a four-time major champion pulled out of the French Open Grand Slam tournament and missed Wimbledon because she needed to take a mental break."How much can players handle?" McEnroe stated. It makes you think about the men who have been around for so many years and how the girls can handle it. I hope she will learn from this experience.Two hours later, the All England Club reported that Raducanu was having difficulty breathing."I cannot imagine being in her shoes at 18, playing in a fourth round of your home country. When Tomljanovic was asked about McEnroe’s comments, Tomljanovic replied that it's something she can't imagine. "It's certainly harsh for him to say such things."The BBC released a statement Tuesday saying that John McEnroe shared his personal opinion on the pressures tennis players face based on his own experience as well as the opinions of current players. He sympathized with Emma's situation.Harriet Minter is a London-based journalist that focuses on issues related to women, the future work of media, diversity and gender. She said, "Is there anything worse than a man telling another woman that she's not hurt, she's just emotionally?" McEnroe is wrong. Ask him to stop.Chloe Hubbard is the executive editor at London's Independent newspaper. She tweeted: "Feel like McEnroe could have received a bit more mental health briefing before he shared ALL the views there."Andy Murray responded to tweets suggesting Raducanu could not handle the pressure and said: "No question mental toughness is what separates the greatest sport, but surely both you aren’t judging her mental toughness yesterday?"Raducanu's match was delayed because of the five-set match between the men. The All England Club released a statement on Tuesday praising Raducanu for her "stability and maturity" throughout the tournament. It also noted that the scheduling process is "not an exact science.""All decisions are made with fairness, the best interests of players, spectators, and our worldwide broadcast audience in mind," said the statement. "But the unpredictable nature and length of matches and British weather can cause disruption to any schedule."McEnroe also mentioned Raducanu's late start in his postmatch analysis.He said, "I don’t think it helped the previous match took as long as it did because she thought about it more." "That's a lot of work, especially if you've never been there before."ESPN released a statement Tuesday saying, "We are investigating the details surrounding what was reported on BBC and will follow up with John."Raducanu issued a statement Tuesday stating that she felt "much better". Raducanu stated that she felt dizzy and had difficulty breathing after the first set. She was advised by the medical team to stop and that she wasn't well enough to continue.She wrote, "Last night will help me learn what it takes" I will treasure everything we accomplished together this week and return stronger!This report includes information from The Associated Press.
