Emma Raducanu has fired a warning to fellow British major champion Andy Murray ahead of their first-round match in the Wimbledon mixed doubles. The 2021 US Open winner and three-time Grand Slam champion have teamed up and are set to face Marcelo Arevalo and Zhang Shuai in their opening match. Murray’s decision to enter mixed doubles comes as a boost to fans wanting to give him a emotional farewell , with the 37-year-old set to retire later this year .
The former world No.1 has played in the Wimbledon mixed doubles just once before – when he teamed up with Serena Williams to reach the third round five years ago – while he clinched Olympic silver with Laura Robson back in 2016. Raducanu, though, who thumped Elise Mertens in the women’s singles on Wednesday to book a spot in the third round, is being coy about her and Murray’s chances in the mixed doubles competition, admitting her record isn’t the best.
‘My doubles record isn’t the longest or most vast,’ Raducanu said after beating Mertens, referencing the fact that she has only ever played one Tour-level doubles match, which she lost alongside Clara Tauson in Washington two years ago. ‘[But] I couldn’t say no. It’s a once in a life time opportunity.
It’s a dream of mine since I was a young girl. ‘Andy is a hero to all of us. For me it’s a real gift and it’s a real honour that he asked me.
‘It’s a moment I could never say no to. I’m super excited to be on the mixed doubles court and hopeful.
