Piers Morgan accused of ‘trying to take credit for’ Emma Raducanu’s historic US Open win

‘Keep digging, Piers,’ wrote one Twitter user

Piers Morgan has been criticised after doubling down on comments he made about 18-year-old tennis player Emma Raducanu.

Raducanu won the final of the US Open last night (11 September), becoming the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since 1977.

Earlier this year, Morgan appeared to criticise Raducanu after she withdrew from Wimbledon, having suffered breathing difficulties midway through a match.

Morgan said that the teenager “couldn’t handle the pressure” and needed to “toughen up”, denying that she was “brave”. His comments were criticised by figures including England footballer Gary Lineker and tennis player Andy Murray.

In the wake of Raducanu’s historic US Open win, Twitter users revisited Morgan’s old comments, with one person writing sarcastically: “This aged well.”

“It did, yes,” Morgan replied.

Another person wrote: “A bad day for Piers Morgan means a huge win for mankind. Maybe people should try a little more to encourage young talents instead of dragging them down.”

This prompted another response from Morgan, who wrote: “A bad day? I’ve been totally vindicated. She took my advice and won.”

“Imagine if @EmmaRaducanu had taken Twitter’s advice & carried on ‘bravely’ and ‘heroically’ quitting and losing… thank God she’s made of tougher stuff & realised that winners don’t quit & have to learn how to handle the pressure,” wrote Morgan in another tweet. “That’s why she’s Champion today. Congrats Emma.”

However, a large number of comments in response to Morgan’s tweet were critical, with some accusing the former Good Morning Britain presenter of “trying to take credit for her win”.

“She’s a heck of a lot tougher than a guy who walked off on air because someone disagreed with him. A real champion!” wrote one person.

“Stop embarrassing yourself, Piers. You don’t actually think she listened to you directly, do you?” wrote another.

“Keep digging Piers,” wrote someone else. “Congrats Emma – what a superstar you are.”