ASB Classic organisers hit back at Emma Raducanu amid court row

ASB Classic boss Nicolas Lamperin has fired back at Emma Raducanu after she criticised the indoor surface where she rolled her ankle on Thursday. 

The British No 1 left the court in tears after rolling her left ankle and being forced to retire in the second round of the ASB Classic against Viktoria Kuzmova, just 11 days ahead of the season’s opening Grand Slam in Australia.

She criticised the tournament and the surfaces for her injury but Lamperin has hit back, claiming the court was ‘fit to play’ and Raducanu is the only player to get injured across the whole tournament.

Raducanu received attention from the trainer, but retired at the start of the third set

‘We are obviously very sorry about Emma’s injury,’ Lamperin said, as per New Zealand TV network 1news. 

‘Every player works really hard in the off-season and that’s not what you expect when you play a tournament in week one.

‘However, injuries happen all the time and it could have happened on outdoor courts as well. We feel [sorry] about the situation but we also say these courts are fit to play.’

Lamperin went on to add: ‘The courts have been checked and we’ve had a number of matches on the indoor courts. We haven’t had an injury apart from yesterday. 

‘As far as the tournament is concerned, with the support of the referee and the supervisor, we are able to play and use this court.’

Lamperin’s fierce riposte came after Raducanu had made the unusual step of criticising the tournament itself. 

The Kent-based star is typically frank and candid when it comes to her physical ailments but in Auckland her frustration, which was evident as she left the court in tears, leaving her Australian Open hopes hanging by a thread. 

Unusually for Raducanu she took aim at the tournament itself, which triggered a response

‘The courts are incredibly slick, like very slippery, so to be honest it’s not a surprise that this happened to someone,’ Raducanu told New Zealand website stuff.co.nz. She had been forced to retire when leading Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova 6-0, 5-7.

‘Auckland overall, it rained a lot this week, so I didn’t get to see much and I thought maybe certain aspects could have been organised better, but overall I had pleasant support.

‘It’s out of my control and after a very long day of waiting around. But we’ll assess over the next few days and see what the next steps are.

‘It’s difficult to take. I’ve put a lot of physical work in the last few months and have been feeling good and optimistic.

‘So to be stopped by a freak injury, rolling an ankle, is pretty disappointing, in the first week as well. I thought I was playing some pretty decent tennis.’

The British No 1 battled a series of injury problems in 2022 and will hope for better in 2023