Piers has recently come under fire for changing his stance on the Bromley teenager, having heavily criticised her after she retired from her Wimbledon fourth-round match with breathing difficulties.
“McEnroe told the truth. Ms Raducanu’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,” he tweeted at the time.
He quickly changed his tune when the 18-year-old made history as the first-ever qualifier to win a Grand Slam title at the US Open, saying: “From Wimbledon choker to US Open champion in 3 months…. never seen a more brilliant illustration of mental strength & resilience than @EmmaRaducanu‘s win. That’s what elite sport is all about – facing up to loss/adversity & going again with no whining & steely determination.”
The TV personality also used Raducanu to lay into chairwoman of the Gala, Dame Anna Wintour, as he implied the Vogue editor-in-chief replaced Khloe Kardashian with the tennis star last-minute.
