Britain’s newest sporting heroine Emma Raducanu is up against surprise Australian contender Ajla Tomljanovic at Wimbledon today.
The 18-year-old’s fairy-tale run continues against 28-year-old Miss Tomljanovic on the competition’s Manic Monday, as the pair battle it out in their last-16 match.
But while Miss Raducanu – who has been praised by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Sir Andy Murray – became the youngest British woman to reach the fourth round of the singles at Wimbledon since 1959 on Saturday, her Croatian-born opponent was involved in a furious row.
Miss Tomljanovic shocked the tennis world when she accused her losing competitor Jelena Ostapenko, 24, of faking an injury, lying and ‘disgraceful behaviour’ after telling the umpire she was injured and needed a medical timeout when down 4-0.
Yet it’s not only the on-court spat which has caught the attention of fans; boyfriend Matteo Berrettin, who is the seventh seed at Wimbledon, delighted admirers when eagerly asking his coach for updates on his 75th seed girlfriend during his own match.
Mr Berrettini – who is on to the fourth round today following his own win on Saturday – and Miss Tomljanovic have been dating since 2019 and often share their glamorous jet-setting life together on Instagram.
It’s not the first Wimbledon star that Miss Tomljanovic has been involved with after she spent two years with ‘tennis’ bad boy’ Australian Nick Kyrgios, until they broke up in 2017, reportedly because of his partying ways.
Britain’s newest sporting heroine Emma Raducanu is up against surprise Australian contender Ajla Tomljanovic (pictured) at Wimbledon today
The 18-year-old’s fairy-tale run continues against 28-year-old Miss Tomljanovic (pictured with her partner Matteo Berrettini) on the competition’s Manic Monday, as the pair battle it out in their last-16 match
Miss Tomljanovic spent two years with ‘tennis’ bad boy’ Australian Nick Kyrgios (pictured together), until they broke up in 2017, reportedly because of his partying ways
Despite both winning their matches on Saturday, Rome-born Mr Berretini, 25, admitted the stress of watching his partner play was too much at times.
‘I feel 10 times more stressed when I’m watching her match than when I’m actually playing my match,’ he said while standing beside Miss Tomljanovic after his third round straight sets win over Aljaz Bedene.
‘I would rather have her playing at the same time. When she’s playing, I’m the most stressed guy on the planet. I would rather play than watch her match.’
Like her boyfriend, Miss Tomljanovic confessed she can’t handle watching her partner play either – and prefers to either play her own match simultaneously, or watch it unfold on TV.
‘It takes away from the stress when you’re watching from the locker room,’ she added. ‘When he starts, if I just finish and he’s in the third set, I won’t go there, maybe for superstition, unless he’s down to change it up.’
Boyfriend Matteo Berrettini, who is the seventh seed at Wimbledon, delighted admirers when eagerly asking his coach for updates on his 75th seed girlfriend (pictured) during his own match
Mr Berrettini, who is on to the fourth round today following his own win on Saturday, and Miss Tomljanovic (above) have been dating since 2019 and often share their glamorous jet-setting life together on Instagram
Miss Tomljanovic previously dated Canberra-born Mr Kyrgios, 26, for two years until his partying reportedly proved too much for her when he was pictured with two girls outside a London nightclub in 2017.
The women later insisted they had just been innocently drinking together with the now reformed tennis bad boy – but it is thought to have still meant the end of the relationship.
Miss Tomljanovic deleted all pictures of the two together from social media before meeting her handsome Italian two years later.
Meanwhile, her Wimbledon experience hasn’t been totally smooth sailing for the tennis player after a row erupted in her last match.
Miss Ostapenko was losing 4-0 to Miss Tomljanovic in the second set when she told the umpire she was injured and needed a medical timeout.
Despite both winning their matches on Saturday, Rome-born Mr Berretini, 25, admitted the stress of watching his partner (pictured together) play was too much at times
Like her boyfriend, Miss Tomljanovic (pictured with her partner) confessed she can’t handle watching her partner play either – and prefers to either play her own match simultaneously, or watch it unfold on TV
But furious Miss Tomljanovic raged to the umpire: ‘You know she’s lying, right? We all know. Are you taking into any consideration that she looked fine for an hour and 30 and now there’s an acute injury?’
The Latvian was assessed by the physiotherapist and left the court to receive treatment. She eventually returned and Miss Tomljanovic won 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
But the dispute continued as the pair went to shake hands, with an offended Miss Ostapenko saying: ‘Your behaviour is terrible. You have zero respect.’
Her opponent replied: ‘You’re the one to talk,’ before Miss Ostapenko snapped back: ‘What? You’re the worst player on tour.’
The bitter falling-out continued in the press conferences as both outraged players traded insults.
Miss Tomljanovic previously dated Canberra-born Mr Kyrgios (pictured together), 26, for two years until his partying reportedly proved too much for her when he was pictured with two girls outside a London nightclub in 2017
‘First of all, she cannot say anything because she knows zero about my injury,’ said the 24-year-old, who won the 2017 French Open. ‘And second, it was very disrespectful from her.
‘I had a problem with my abdominal in the second set. I should have called physio earlier, but I was just trying to forget the pain and focus on the game.
‘I think my level today was not good after the first set, because if I played at least 50 per cent I would have beaten her.’
But Miss Tomljanovic insisted: ‘I have been in situations where players use that medical timeout to put their opponent off, usually when they are losing badly.
‘She can say she was injured. I don’t think she was. There was nothing wrong with her the whole match, but then why on 4-0 she calls it? She just wanted to get me off my game.
While Miss Raducanu – who has been praised by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Sir Andy Murray – became the youngest British woman to reach the fourth round of the singles at Wimbledon since 1959 on Saturday, her Croatian-born opponent (pictured) was involved in a furious row
‘Usually if you are dealing with an injury, you say, “Hey, can you call the physio on the next changeover?” You don’t just go and sit down when your opponent is about to serve to go up 5-0.
‘There was nothing wrong with her. I know when someone is injured and when they’re not. Then to top it all off, for her to call me disrespectful at the end of the match — it’s laughable.
‘I think it’s disgraceful behaviour from a Slam champion, because kids look at her and, what, they see that?’
Miss Tomljanovic shocked the tennis world when she accused her losing competitor Jelena Ostapenko (pictured), 24, of faking an injury, lying and ‘disgraceful behaviour’ after telling the umpire she was injured and needed a medical timeout when down 4-0
Potential legal ramifications if players are denied medical treatment has hampered attempts to address the issue of players sometimes abusing the medical timeouts.
Miss Tomljanovic added: ‘There definitely should be a rule where we prevent that from happening, because it happens way too much in the women’s game.
‘But I guess you cannot deny medical help to a player. The fact that she did it at 4-0 when I was about to serve, that’s disrespectful. It’s not what you do, especially at Wimbledon. It’s the pinnacle of sport. I’m just tired of seeing it happen. We can do better than that.’
Rads to riches! Tennis golden girl Emma Raducanu, 18, is set for sponsorship millions as Wimbledon showdown looms
She will take to Wimbledon’s Court One today as Britain’s newest sporting heroine – but the fuss over her history-making run at the championships seems unlikely to faze Emma Raducanu.
The 18-year-old has been praised for her attitude, composure – and a superstar potential that seems certain to earn her a fortune.
On Saturday, Emma became the youngest British woman to reach the fourth round of the singles at Wimbledon since 1959, a fairytale run that has captured the hearts of the nation.
It is a miraculous achievement for a player whose world ranking of 338 was the lowest in the women’s draw.
Hello week two! Emma Raducanu thrilled and charmed in equal measure on No 1 Court as she fought to make it into the last 16
Born in Canada to a Romanian father and a Chinese mother, Miss Raducanu (pictured) moved to Britain at the age of two and grew up in London
Saturday’s win win means Miss Raducanu is guaranteed a payday of at least £181,000 this week – more than six times her previous accumulated career earnings of £28,762.
Now the teenager, from Bromley, south-east London, is guaranteed £300,000 if she wins her last-16 match against Ajla Tomljanovic.
Even if she loses, Emma – who has been praised by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Sir Andy Murray – is tipped to earn millions in sponsorship deals.
Brands are likely to be clambering over themselves to sign her up; with her charming post-match interview on court leaving her joking about how she never expected a second week at Wimbledon.
Champ in the making: Emma competing in a junior competition in France, left, and on her way to victory at Wimbledon on Saturday, pictured right
After her first round victory, she gained 30,000 followers on Instagram – and yesterday’s win took that to another level – she’s currently on 125,000 and rising fast.
Born in Canada to a Romanian father and a Chinese mother, Miss Raducanu moved to Britain at the age of two and grew up in London.
She first picked up a racquet aged five and played at Bromley Tennis Academy from the age of ten.
During lockdown, she could be seen knocking tennis balls back and forth to her dad in the quiet cul-de-sac where the family live.
On her Instagram page, the rising star references her global roots listing London, where she lives now, Toronto, where she was born and the two cities where her parents are from Bucharest in Romania and Shenyang in China.