Johanna Konta has risen to the defence of Emma Raducanu, after the teenage star got people talking following her post-match interview following defeat to Caroline Garcia at Wimbledon. It was yet more disappointment for Raducanu, as her SW19 journey came to an end early in the second round.
Garcia defeated the 19-year-old in straight sets, 6-3 6-3 on Wednesday, and afterwards Raducanu sparked debate following her assessment of the clash. This came after the US Open champion hit out at her critics, describing the pressure on her shoulders as a "joke".
Raducanu said: "There's no pressure. Like, why is there any pressure? "I'm still 19. Like, it's a joke. I literally won a Slam."
The 19-year-old’s comments have since been backed by former British No. 1 Konta, who believes the youngster has every right to call on the tall pressures loaded onto her at such a young age.
Speaking to Express Sport , she said: “She [Raducanu] definitely presents modern maturity in her knowledge about herself and what she wants to do and the direction she wants to go.
“What she said is a fact, she is a Grand Slam champion and she's 19 years old so they're literally just facts that she said. She has every right to say these facts. In terms of pressure, again pressure is very much absorbed and dealt with individually.
"I think it's great if she's able to digest the situation in this way and see it in a way that it's just a part of the job and actually not a big deal. Caroline Garcia played a great match, she just was the better player on that day.”
Since remarkably breaking onto the scene as US Open champion last September, Raducanu has struggled to replicate the heroics she showed at Flushing Meadows. Despite this, Konta believes that the 19-year-old’s tennis will only continue to "improve". Calling for patience, she added: “Obviously Emma is going to continue to be working to improve physically and improve her tennis. So that's going to take time and I think we all know that."
