Tommy Bowe questions woman's decision to bring child to tennis match

Irish Daily Mirror

2 hours ago

Tommy Bowe has questioned the decision of a parent to bring their child to a tennis match after the child in question disrupted the players by crying.
Partway through the match between Emma Raducanu and Aryna Sabalenka at the Cincinnati Open, Raducanu complained about the crying child 'for ten minutes' to the chair umpire, who replied in seemingly disbelief by asking whether Raducanu wanted the child to be removed, to which Raducanu and some of the crowd responded in the affirmative.
The British tennis star has come in for some criticism from some quarters for her remarks and attitude to the crying child, but she has a supporter in ex-Ireland rugby star Tommy Bowe who also believes the child shouldn't have been brought to the event. Emma Raducanu (Image: ISI Photos via Getty Images)
Appearing on Ireland AM, the topic of Raducanu's comments came up, with Bowe being asked what he as a father of two would have done in the situation.
Bowe told actor Gerard Jordan, who was appearing on the show, that he wouldn't have brought his children to such an event, and in an imagined scenario where a babysitter fell through at the last minute, the ex-rugby star claimed that in that situation he would have simply stayed at home with the children.
"As a parent, I would know that it would be too stressful for me to take my child in there to be put in that situation. So I'd decide, no, I don't think it's worth upsetting the other people who are watching it and me being put under the stress of doing it. I'll watch it on the telly," said Bowe. Tommy Bowe
Like Raducanu, Bowe has come in for some criticism for his comments, with one social media user saying "Disappointed in these comments. No compassion for that mom. Gerard Jordan is just trying to inspire people to put themselves in someone else's shoes for two seconds but y'all can't even do that."
Others have defended Bowe, and have suggested that in a sporting event like tennis where the crowd remains mostly silent, perhaps a young child isn't suited to such an environment.
As for the match itself, Sabalenka won in three sets as she continues to build momentum ahead of next month's US Open, where Raducanu will team with Carlos Alcaraz in mixed doubles action.