I’m not a big tennis fan, but I’ve always enjoyed watching Wimbledon. There’s nothing quite like sitting down to watch a match with a glass of Pimm’s in one hand, a punnet of strawberries in the other – and the buzz surrounding the tournament is enough to get anyone excited for the summer. But this year, I’m struggling to find the joy. There was excitement at first – especially after Emma Raducanu won her first-round match earlier this week – but that quickly came crashing down on Wednesday when she was knocked out. My heart sunk. Not because of her performance – far from it – instead, I was dreading what I knew was coming next: the abuse.

Since she first rose to fame after winning the US Open last year, Raducanu has faced a lot of criticism. Soon after the 19-year-old beat Leylah Fernandez to bring home her first Grand Slam title, she was subjected to an onslaught of negative commentary. From claims she’s been distracted by high-value sponsorship deals to criticism for changing coaches “too much”, Raducanu’s name hasn’t been far from headlines over the last 12 months. And in the run-up to her return to Wimbledon, the commentary got even more intense – her agent was forced to come to her defence after comments about her lack of focus continued to surface.