"Emma Raducanu took a picture sitting down, no drink in hand, no nothing" - Andy Roddick weighs in on claim that 'partying' led to Brit's Doha loss

Andy Roddick recently shared his opinion on the claims made by the media about Emma Raducanu’s most recent loss at the 2024 Qatar Open.

Raducanu was last seen in action at the WTA 1000 in Doha, where she was granted a wild card entry. Just days after her second-round loss to Ons Jabeur in Abu Dhabi, the Brit suffered a crushing 6-0, 7-6 (8) defeat to Anhelina Kalinina in her Doha opener.

During the period between the two tournaments, Emma Raducanu also made a quick trip to Dubai to attend a star-studded party at a luxury hotel. British tennis journalist Stuart Fraser, among others, questioned the 21-year-old’s priorities in an article titled, “Emma Raducanu flops 48 hours after event with Naomi Campbell.” Fraser seemingly insinuated that partying was to blame for her loss in Doha.

Andy Roddick recently weighed in on the claims and touched upon Raducanu’s wild card entry into the Qatar Open.

"Last week, I saw some British rag, ‘Emma Raducanu at a party two days before she plays her first round.’ One – she’s a wild card. If you’re a wild card it’s like, I’m asking you for a direct entry into a tournament, which your ranking does not get you into," the American said on the ‘Served with Andy Roddick’ podcast.

"But whenever you get a wild card for the history of time, you have to give something back to the tournament," he added.

The former World No. 1 then shared what the players are tasked with in exchange for the wild card entry. It is worth noting that Raducanu had also received a wild card to compete in Abu Dhabi.

"Normally it’s like, I’m not a name, I haven’t won the US Open at that point, so I’m participating in clinics or I’m hitting with a sponsor’s kid... or who knows what it might actually be," Andy Roddick continued.

Roddick then seemingly suggested that Raducanu could have been fulfilling one such commitment. He defended the 2021 US Open champion by noting that she was not captured drinking at the party.

"They’re like, she’s out partying. I’m like, no. She went to an appearance that was probably the reason why she… Maybe I’m projecting here but it’s not out of bounds," he added. "She went to this thing, took a picture sitting down, no drink in the hand, no nothing. Party? The headline’s impossible!"

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Andy Roddick questions Emma Raducanu's focus and her coaching choices: "I don't know what's happening when"

Emma Raducanu created history at the 2021 US Open by becoming the first-ever player to win a Major as a qualifier

While Andy Roddick defended Emma Raducanu for her presence at the party in Dubai, he questioned her assessment of her Qatar Open loss. The Brit claimed that she wasn’t well-prepared to compete outdoors, which she felt contributed to her defeat.

Roddick, however, reminded his listeners that Raducanu spent a couple of months practicing and competing on outdoor hardcourts during her visit Down Under in December-January.

"Three days later, she loses [at the Qatar Open]; it’s not the greatest match and she’s talking about how she hasn’t played outdoors enough. I’m going, ‘You spent two months in Australia.’ So I don’t know how to cover her," the former Grand Slam champion said on his podcast.

Roddick also expressed concerns over her coaching choices. Emma Raducanu has tried six coaches over the last two and a half years. At her recent tournaments, she was coached by her childhood mentor Nick Cavaday.

"In one aspect, this [scrutiny] is completely unfair and then other one, I’m going - I don’t know what the focus is as far as coaching. I don’t know what’s happening when," he said.

"It's one of the stranger things that I’ve ever had to really think about, all the while every time I watch her, I cheer for her. She’s such a great story and such an outlier in tennis. My entire life I’ve been in this game, and I’ve never once in my life seen something happen the way it did in New York [in 2021]," Andy Roddick added.