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Holger Rune recently defended fellow tennis pro Emma Raducanu's trolling of the British media.
Raducanu appears to be feeling the strain of her fall down the tennis rankings. During a bizarre press conference at the Madrid Open, she responded to 16 questions with only 58 words.
Raducanu was repeatedly questioned about the possibility of facing fellow Brit Jodie Anna Burrage at the WTA 1000 event, among other things, and her responses were barely coherent. The press conference with the former US Open champion became so tense that WTA officials were forced to end it.
Following this, World No. 7 Holger Rune took to Twitter to defend the British player, claiming that the only way to avoid being misunderstood is to give nothing.
"The only way to be sure not to be misunderstood is to give nothing," Rune wrote in reply to a post about Raducanu's interview.
Eugenie Bouchard supports Emma Raducanu over the British media saga
Eugenie Bouchard recently spoke with the WTA and shared her thoughts on the controversy sparked by Emma Raducanu's trolling of the British media. The Canadian said she understood the Brit's situation and sympathized with her.
"I see lots of similarities," Bouchard said. "I feel for her in the sense. She has a great life, she’s set for life and she’s had great achievements. But I can understand a little bit, possibly the pressure, the scrutiny."
"She tweeted something, posted something about not doing tennis one day," she added. "And people were like, 'Why don’t you go practice.' I was like, 'Oh, my God, I went through that six, eight years ago.' Haters will hate, you know what I mean?"
Bouchard also believes that athletes should be allowed to take a break and engage on social media as long as they remain focused on their goals.
"I’ve known all along who I am and what I do. And look, lots of tennis players are posting -- people post more than me these days. I’m so happy that these days it’s so much more normal," Bouchard said.
"As long as you don’t get too distracted with it, stay focused on your No.1 goal. Why not? Life is great. Just don’t put us in a box," the Canadian added.
Emma Raducanu is set to fall out of the top 100 for the first time in less than two years, after withdrawing from the Madrid Open on Wednesday (April 26) with a hand injury hours before her first match.
The 20-year-old was set to take on Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova in the Spanish capital, before potentially facing World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the second round. After her withdrawal, Raducanu was replaced in the draw by Austrian lucky loser Julia Grabher.
