Simon Jordan fumes and demands new rules after Emma Raducanu wanted child kicked out
Emma Raducanu was left fuming after a crying child could be heard in the crowd during her Cincinnati Open match against Aryna Sabalenka.
Simon Jordan has called for audience age limits in tennis following Emma Raducanu’s request to have a crying child removed at the Cincinnati Open. The world No. 33 was embroiled in controversy during her third-round battle against Aryna Sabalenka after being distracted by an infant’s cries at a crucial moment.
Raducanu was serving in the eighth game of an epic showdown at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre when the contentious incident erupted. The 22-year-old motioned towards the crowd while appealing to the umpire, who responded sharply: “It’s a child. Do you want me to send the child out of the stadium?” Three-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka showed grace in victory after claiming a 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(5) triumph, securing a fourth-round clash with Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
However, talkSPORT commentator Jordan was left seething after witnessing the exchange and unleashed a furious outburst. The former Crystal Palace chairman protested his side of the argument with passion, responding to presenter Jim White’s suggestion that sporting events cannot prohibit children.
“Well, you can make it appropriate,” he said. “If they’ve got a baby inside an auditorium: A, I don’t think it’s particularly responsible parenting. And B, it’s not reflective of the environment a child should probably be in!
And C, you’ve then got the distraction that tennis player, or anyone playing an individual sport that requires a degree of concentration, is going to be affected by. So it’s not me being some horrid, Wackford Squeers from some Charles Dickens book.
“It’s me looking at it going, ‘It’s ridiculous. I wouldn’t bring a young child. Theatres don’t allow people to bring young children into auditoriums when actors are in the middle of acting so a kid can scream out and spit his dummy across the room.'”
Jordan, who is renowned for his controversial stance and forthright opinions, then reinforced his position by restating his belief that it’s inappropriate for babies to attend such sporting occasions. Nevertheless, White adopted a considerably more tolerant perspective on the issue and dismissed Jordan’s objections with laughter before advocating for a gentler approach.
You can take a baby on a plane,” White countered, implying it would be absurd to impose different regulations across various public venues. Yet the Scot could only laugh when Jordan retorted: “I don’t suppose the pilot would want the baby in the cockpit, would he?”
White persisted in arguing it would be nonsensical to propose banning infants from major sporting competitions. However, Jordan refused to budge in his stance as he brought up comparable examples that currently would not allow infant attendees in most cases.
