Let’s stop being paternalistic and give Emma Raducanu a break – she’s earned it

T he Wimbledon championships are still two months away, but already they have shed a little stardust with the news that Emma Raducanu will not be taking part. As the only tennis tournament that many Brits follow – yet commit to with an unhinged devotion – Wimbledon’s fan experience involves debating the merits of whoever happens to be its current darling-cum-human-sacrifice. On Wednesday Raducanu, a recent holder of that position, posted a picture to Instagram from her hospital bed, revealing the treatment to both hands (and an ankle) that will keep her out of competition for the rest of the summer.

There was, it is pleasing to observe, plenty of sympathy and well-wishing for the 20-year-old, after a long struggle with form since her unexpected and historic US Open win. After an early exit in Stuttgart in mid-April and before her withdrawal from the Madrid Open last week, there had been concerns that her ranking in the women’s top 100 was under threat. But of just as much interest to many on social media has been the fate of her many and valuable sponsorship deals.

Given that British Airways and Porsche were among the first Insta-responders to bombard her with heart emojis (“We wish you a speedy recovery and an even stronger return to the court and behind the steering wheel!” said Porsche), I think we can say that she’ll be doing fine for a while yet. But the levels of emotion expressed during the past year about her signing of endorsement deals have been instructive. And even as she documented her injury struggles, there were drive-by commentators asking if she would be well enough to sign her cheques while she was on her break.

Last October, Raducanu was calculated to be the 12th most marketable athlete in the world,