Tennis star Andy Murray has come to British teenager Emma Raducanu’s defence after Piers Morgan said she should “toughen up” following her mid-match retirement at Wimbledon.

Raducanu‘s dream run at the tournament ended on Monday night after she was forced to withdraw during her last 16 match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic after suffering “difficulty breathing”.

The 18-year-old wildcard had been noticeably struggling to breathe and, after consulting with medics, she walked off Court One for a timeout.

Shortly afterwards, the chair umpire announced Raducanu could not continue with her fourth-round clash to groans of disappointment from the crowd.

In BBC commentary of the incident on Monday night, former tennis champion John McEnroe told viewers “it appears it got a bit too much” for Raducanu, adding it was “understandable”.

He then compared the incident to when four-time major champion Naomi Osaka pulled out of the previous Grand Slam tournament, the French Open, and also missed Wimbledon because she said she needed a mental health break.

McEnroe came under fire on social media, with some users saying his comments were “out of order”, while others said it was “disappointing” that he jumped to the conclusion that Raducanu was struggling with her mental health.

Former Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan lambasted online criticism of McEnroe and said he had “told the truth” about Raducanu.

Misspelling her name, he tweeted: “Ms Raducuna’s a talented player but couldn’t handle the pressure & quit when she was losing badly.

“Not ‘brave’, just a shame. If I were her, I’d tell my fans to stop abusing McEnroe, & seek his advice on how to toughen up & become a champion like he was.”

Raducanu had lost the first set 6-4 and was 3-0 down in the second to the world number 75 when she received medical attention courtside from the trainer and doctor.

The teenager did not take part in a press conference but Wimbledon officials confirmed late on Monday night that the reason for Raducanu’s retirement had been “difficulty breathing”.

Her opponent, Tomljanovic, said: “I can’t imagine being in her shoes, at 18, playing a fourth round in your home country. It’s something I can’t even imagine.”

When asked about McEnroe’s comments, she said: “For him to say that, it’s definitely harsh.”

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