John McEnroe to Emma Raducanu after Wimbledon loss: 'Back up the hype!'

It was last summer when all-time great John McEnroe received criticism from many in the tennis and sports worlds for comments deemed controversial that he made about British teenager Emma Raducanu after she retired from a Wimbledon match with breathing issues. 

Following that story, Raducanu became a household name by winning the U.S. Open in New York. She's also split with coaches on multiple occasions in under 12 months (which elicited a reaction from McEnroe), and she most recently crashed out of this year's Wimbledon Championships when she fell to Caroline Garcia via a straight-sets second-round defeat. 

Shortly after Raducanu's third second-round loss in a Grand Slam this year, she somewhat defiantly remarked that she feels "no pressure" playing in the world's biggest tournaments. 

"Like, why is there any pressure? I'm still 19. Like, it's a joke. I literally won a Slam," Raducanu added at the time. 

Unsurprisingly, McEnroe has reacted to those words. 

"She won the U.S. Open from the qualifying (round), of course there is a lot of expectation coming from that," McEnroe explained during a BBC appearance, per Jared Greenspan of the New York Post. "I suppose nerves play a part in injury. She is 19 years old. She should be able to deal with that very quickly. I hope some big things happen in the future, but you gotta start believing. Back up the hype!" 

McEnroe also hit out at apparent advice Raducanu has received since her historic triumph in New York last year. 

"I don’t know who (the support staff) are," he continued. "She keeps switching teams as new coaches come in and out of the situation. That’s not a good thing. But she’s got to figure it out for herself. 

"She won the U.S. Open. Some slouch doesn’t win the U.S. Open. She’s a great player. You’ve got to look at it like that — not, 'I’m inexperienced.' I’m not totally buying that part."

Perhaps ESPN should sit these two down for an interview before this year's U.S. Open.