“People would choose hate over help” – Emma Raducanu’s coach seemingly sends strongly-worded message to Brit’s critics after Citi DC Open controversy

July 26, 2025

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Emma Raducanu’s coach, Mark Petchey, seemingly shared his thoughts after the former drew criticism from the tennis enthusiasts for taking a medical timeout during her quarterfinal match at the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open. Raducanu went on to win her match against the Greek tennis player Maria Sakkari in straight sets.

The 22-year-old overcame Marta Kostyuk, Naomi Osaka, and Sakkari to reach the semifinals. She will next face the Russian star Anna Kalinskaya in the semi-final round on Saturday,

However, during the second set in the quarter-final match, Sakkari was on the lead, and later Raducanu took a medical timeout, eventually returning and breaking Sakkari’s lead, winning the set. Some tennis fans online claimed that Raducanu took a MTO as a move to gain traction in the game.

Considering this, her coach, Mark Petchey, shared his thoughts through his recent X post, mentioning:

"So many people would rather choose hate over help. Because hate takes no effort. But if you choose help, even when there are no guarantees, you will never regret it."

Petchey is a former British tennis player, and currently works as a tennis commentator and analyst for Tennis Channel, Tennis Australia, BBC, ITV, Amazon Prime and others. He has been working with Emma Raducanu since the 2025 Miami Open. In Miami, she reached her first WTA 1000 event quarterfinal, before losing out to Jessica Pegula in straight sets. With her performance, she came in the top 50 of the WTA singles rankings for the first time since 2022.

Raducanu is known for taking MTOs in her past matches, including the round 16 of Internationaux de Strasbourg, and in the second round of the 2025 Australian Open.

Emma Raducanu reflects on the physical and psychological challenges of playing in extreme weather

Emma Raducanu at the Mubadala Citi DC Open 2025 - Day 4 - Source: Getty

During her on-court interview after her quarterfinal match at the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open, Emma Raducanu shared her thoughts on the mental and physical challenges of playing in heated conditions. She said (via the Olympics):

"It was brutal today, thanks to everybody for coming out and sitting in the heat. If you don't have the abilities your body will fail you, but at some point it becomes mental. The first set was over an hour, it was mental. You have to enjoy suffering, as bad as that sounds, and leave it all out on the court until you drop."

The 2021 US Open champion is searching for her maiden WTA 500 title at the Citi DC Open.

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