Tennis Controversies of the Week: Emma Raducanu comes under fire over Abu Dhabi Open wildcard; Rafael Nadal’s honorary doctorate triggers ‘unrest,’ and more

British tennis star Emma Raducanu came under scrutiny after securing the Abu Dhabi Open main draw wildcard upgrade. In other news, the University of Salamanca caused an uproar over its decision to honor Rafael Nadal with a doctorate.

Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner came under fire for declining a meeting with the Italian President Mattarella, following the Australian Open win. Rafael Nadal’s uncle Toni received backlash for doubting the authenticity of Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open injury

Also, the Italian tennis chief landed in hot water after claiming that Jannik Sinner was far superior to Carlos Alcaraz.

On that note, here’s a recap of the top tennis controversies from last week:

Emma Raducanu’s Abu Dhabi Open wildcard upgrade sparked controversy

Emma Raducanu faced backlash after her qualifying wildcard for the Abu Dhabi Open was upgraded to a main draw spot just a day before the event. Raducanu, who was set to compete in qualifiers for the first time since 2021, bypassed the queue.

However, after speaking with the tournament organizers, Gray clarified that the wildcard upgrade was due to Ashlyn Krueger’s withdrawal, who had initially received a main draw wildcard. This allowed Krueger’s original wildcard spot to be freed and given to Raducanu.

“Had a useful clarification on this for fans of entry list chess… Ashlyn Krueger got in on her ranking after withdrawals, so didn’t need a wildcard after all. As such, one was freed up, and offered to Emma Raducanu instead. (The result of course is the same!),” he wrote in a post on X.