Emma Raducanu lost to Danielle Collins in the second round of the WTA event in Strasbourg on Tuesday, with Collins feeling she needed to step in after a cameraman got a little too close
Tennis star Danielle Collins was incensed by what she deemed to be the ‘wildly inappropriate’ actions of a camera operator during her face-off with Emma Raducanu in Strasbourg.
American Collins beat her British opponent in a three sets, with Raducanu picking up a back injury and needing a time out during the contest. But it was what happened during another break in play which angered Collins.
Caught on the live feed during a game intermission, Collins took issue with the close proximity of the camera operator, promptly confronting him.
Stating her need for personal space and protection for Raducanu, Collins said: “I need to get water. We’re on a changeover. You don’t need to be that close to me and you don’t need to be on top of Emma. It’s wildly inappropriate. It’s not that difficult to give space, I’m sorry.”
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Although Collins had been unnerved, she proceeded to replenish her water bottle even as the camera kept rolling, before making her way back onto the court.
With the French Open starting on Sunday, Raducanu will now have her back problem fully assessed before travelling to Paris, though the way she competed hard in a tight third set could suggest it was not too serious.
She took a wild card to enter the final warm-up tournament for Roland Garros in eastern France – not something she has usually done in the build-up to a grand slam.
The British number two, who is chasing Katie Boulter as the highest-ranked Briton, started off well by winning the first set against the world number 46.
But her level immediately dropped and after walking through the fifth game, where she went 5-0 down, she left the court for lengthy treatment.
Collins quickly wrapped up the second set and there was a fear she could also run away with the decider.
But to her credit, Raducanu fought hard and was primed to take a 3-1 lead but could not convert four break points.
It was tightly poised at 3-3 after an exchange of breaks, but Collins put her foot down to win the final three games as Raducanu fell away.
