There are some places where it’s not appropriate to have a crying child — a theater, a wedding, a professional tennis match, for example.
Emma Raducanu pointed out the latter on Monday during her match at the Cincinnati Open against top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka. A crying child in the stands disturbed her as she prepared to serve at a critical juncture in the deciding third set while trailing, 4-3.
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Raducanu paused play and appeared to ask the chair umpire to address the situation. The umpire’s initial response wasn’t audible on the broadcast, but prompted Raducanu to respond:
“It’s been, like 10 minutes.”
The umpire, perplexed, chided back:
“It’s a child,” she said. “Do you want me to send the child out of the stadium?”
Raducanu didn’t have to answer. A round of yeses emanated from the stands in support of the idea. Raducanu just smiled and gestured toward the voices in the stands who supported her.
Emma Raducanu gestures to support from the crowd after the umpire scolded her for asking her to address a crying baby in the stands.
(Robert Prange via Getty Images)
The umpire at that point conceded.
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“I can call in,” she said. “But we need to continue for the moment.”
This drew a round of applause from the stands, and Raducanu continued with her serve and scored a point as Sabalenka failed to hit a volley over the net.
Sabalenka ultimately held to win the match, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) and the third-round prize money of $60,400 that came with advancing to the fourth round.
It wasn’t clear how the issue of the crying baby was resolved.
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