Emma Raducanu justifies ditching Andy Murray at Wimbledon

It took Emma Raducanu "literally 10 seconds" to agree to be Andy Murray's mixed doubles partner when presented with the offer last week. The 21-year-old labeled the idea of playing alongside her childhood hero a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" that she simply couldn't pass up.

Raducanu's decision also meant fans would witness the 37-year-old Murray — who withdrew from his final Wimbledon singles pursuit with injury issues — in action one last time at the hallowed grass courts. 

The Raducanu-Murray pairing was set to start its mixed-doubles campaign against Marcelo Arevalo and Zhang Shuai on Saturday. That was until Raducanu had a last-minute change of heart, pulling out of the event due to "wrist soreness" and disappointing Murray fans in the process.

After being upset by Lulu Sun in her Round of 16 tie on Sunday, Raducanu justified her reasoning to pull out of the event with Murray.

"It was a very difficult decision," Raducanu said, via The Athletic's Colin Millar. "Of course, I didn't want to take his last match away from him. But at the end of the day I think a lot of the players in a similar situation would have done the same thing, prioritizing their body. I still stand by making the right call. I don’t think I would have done it any other way. I think in this sport especially, as an individual, you have to make your own calls and prioritize yourself." 

It would be rather unfair to blame Raducanu for denying fans a last opportunity to watch Murray, especially after watching her labor through injury issues in her loss to Sun. The 21-year-old was primed to make her first major quarterfinal since the 2021 U.S. Open only to, yet again, catch the injury bug. 

According to The Daily Telegraph, Murray was "extremely disappointed" by Raducanu's decision since mixed doubles was his last chance to bid goodbye to fans at Wimbledon. Per tournament rules, he could not pick a replacement partner to re-enter the mixed doubles affair. 

Alas, it wasn't meant to be.