In 18-year-old tennis sensation Emma Raducanu, “a star has been born”, says Annabel Sampson in Tatler. A wild-card Wimbledon entry, fresh from her A-levels, the teenager didn’t drop a set in three matches at her first grand slam. Sadly, she had to retire from her fourth-round clash with Australian Ajla Tomljanovic on Monday after experiencing breathing difficulties and feeling dizzy. But she is the youngest British woman to reach the fourth round since the “open era” began in 1968 (her Chinese mother and Romanian father moved here when she was two), and we are all “in her thrall”.
Well, most of us, says Lucy Campbell in The Guardian. John McEnroe came under fire for saying “it all got a bit too much for her” while commentating on the match for the BBC. Piers Morgan joined in on Twitter, saying Raducanu “couldn’t handle the pressure & quit when she was losing badly. Not ‘brave’, just a shame.”
It happened to me when I played for England’s under-16s against Wales, tweeted footballer Marcus Rashford. There was no explanation for it and it never happened again. “You should be very proud of yourself.” Judy Murray and her son Andy also lent Raducanu their support: “Middle-aged men should generally avoid commenting on the physical or mental wellbeing of teenagers,” said Mrs Murray.
It’s hardly game over, says Jack Malvern in The Times. Raducanu pocketed £181,000 from the tournament – more than six times her previous career earnings – and will be sought out by sponsors. One branding consultant tells me she’ll be able to earn about £3m before 12 months are out. And a player who was ranked world number 338 in the world a week ago should emerge at number 174. Despite her issues on Monday, this carefree kid “has made her mark”.
A rotten decision, says the state of Denmark
“And then they wonder why no one likes England,” says Johann Thor Haahr Hansen in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. “Booing during the Danish national anthem, diving like crazy during the game, elbows in every header. Laser pens. I hope they get a taste of their own medicine against Italy.” It’s not as if that sad little island has anything else to cheer about, says Berlingske’s UK correspondent, Poul Hoi. But let the “strangely aggressive” English party. “Rejoice instead that you have woken up in Denmark.”
I smelt a rat too, says Stefano Boldrini in La Gazzetta dello Sport. The “very generous penalty” that allowed the team to eliminate Denmark “confirms the suspicions about the exchange of favours for Boris Johnson”. Britain’s PM is, rightly or wrongly, seen as “the saviour of European football” after he stood up to the formation of the European Super League. No wonder England are getting soft calls from Uefa’s officials.
No sour grapes here, says Antonello Guerrera in La Reppublica. On Wednesday’s evidence, Italy will face an impatient “golden generation who want it all” in Sunday’s final at Wembley. Italians love the English, and a lot of us live in London: “Both sides will be playing at home.” England seem to have shrugged off the “voodoo” that clung to the Beckhams, Lampards and Rooneys of yesteryear. They’re a fantastic, indestructible group of “merciless serenity”, not the stressed-out mess of the past. “Italy, be warned.”