Emma Raducanu accused of 'throwing opponent off' as John McEnroe highlights 'iffy' episode

Emma Raducanu will face Iga Swiatek in the third round of the Australian Open

Emma Raducanu has been accused of deploying ‘iffy’ tactics to overcome Amanda Anisimova at the Australian Open. The British star won in straight sets to set up a thrilling third-round tie against Iga Swiatek in Melbourne. Raducanu navigated the pain barrier to win her second-round match. A back injury caused the 22-year-old problems and forced her to call the trainer onto the court on a couple of occasions. John McEnroe believes the stoppages might have ‘thrown off’ Anisimova’s rhythm and described the move to call on the trainer as ‘iffy’. Speaking on Eurosport, McEnroe said: “She called the trainer a couple times on the court during the second set against Anisimova so it looks kind of iffy what was going to happen. I don’t know if that threw Anisimova off, but it worked.

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“She looked like she was moving better. But obviously that will be a problem against Iga. To me, when you play a top player like Iga who’s not as comfortable on hard courts as she is on clay, it’s a good time to play her, when she’s not quite sure of herself. “Radacanu’s making progress but it’ll be a tall order. If she’s feeling right, she’ll have a shot at it. It’s good to see her back in the mix.” Raducanu has impressed down under given that she came into the Australian Open with no competition action under her belt in 2025. Her 2023 and 2024 campaigns were heavily disrupted by injury problems. A monumental test against Swiatek will provide evidence for how far Raducanu has come since she underwent surgery on both wrists and her ankle in mid-2023. Former British men’s No. 1 Tim Henman believes the 2021 US Open champion can cause Swiatek problems.

Emma Raducanu was accused of 'iffy' tactics after calling the trainer at the Australian Open

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