There may not have been many public tears from Britain’s newest sporting superstar, but Emma Raducanu gave blood and sweat as she fought her way to an incredible US Open victory.
The New York final was delayed for several minutes late in the second set after Raducanu slipped on the hard court, cutting her knee. With blood trickling down her leg, she was bandaged up by a medical attendant while opponent Lelyah Fernandez questioned the tournament referee.
Raducanu did not let the pause interrupt her progress and completed victory soon after with an ace to win the championship
Asked about the medical timeout in the post-final press conference, Fernandez said she acted “in the heat of the moment”.
“Well, I honestly did not know what was happening with Emma,” the Canadian said. “I didn’t know how serious her fall was, so that’s why I went to see the official and ask her about it. You know what, it just happened in the heat of the moment.
“It was just too bad that it happened in that specific moment with me, with the momentum. But it’s sports, it’s tennis. Just got to move on.”
On Saturday night, explaining what happened in her own press conference, Raducanu said: “It was a pretty incredible point. She hit an amazing backhand line. I was giving it everything I had. I fell. My knee cut pretty bad.
“I didn’t actually want to stop because I thought it would disrupt my rhythm, seeing as I was going to be serving 30-40, and to have such a long break after a point.
“But I couldn’t play on. I wasn’t allowed to because my knee was, like, gushing with blood. The chair umpire said I needed to get it treated right away. I guess I just went over and was really trying to think what my patterns of play were going to be, what I was going to try to execute.
“Going out there facing a break point after a two-, three-minute disruption isn’t easy. I think I managed for sure to really pull off the clutch plays when I needed to.”
What happened
With the second set at 5-3 to the Brit, Raducanu slips trying to return Fernandez’s backhand.
In sliding across the court, Raducanu cuts her knee and begins to bleed.
Raducanu receives medical treatment to stem the flow of blood. A medical timeout is called.
Fernandez remonstrates with the tournament referee while the physio patches up Raducanu’s knee.
Radacanu resumes after being patched up and goes on to win the second set and, with it, the tournament.
What the rules say
Grand slam tournament rules say the match umpire must ‘stop play as soon as possible’ with a medical timeout if necessary. Any blood spillage must be cleared up before play can resume.