Not for the first time in her career, Emma Raducanu has been the target of nasty social media snipes in recent days.
From the moment she broke through by winning the 2021 US Open, Raducanu was thrust into a spotlight that was always likely to result in a blinding glare of publicity.
Her rapid rise to the top inspired A-list sponsors to jump on board the Raducanu train, with the money flowing in for a young star who was being cast as the new face of the women’s game.
Such inflated levels of expectation were always likely to backfire and that was the story that played out, with Raducanu struggling physically, mentally and technically to adapt to life on the WTA Tour.
The stuttering start to her career after the miracle of her US Open win was inevitable, yet the social media abuse that has flowed in her direction was not necessary.
Some accounts on X have been set up with the sole intention of goading this inspirational 22-year-old, with her each and every defeat celebrated by many on social media who seem eager for her to fail.