British tennis fans hoping to watch Emma Raducanu’s full match against world No 2 Aryna Sabalenka were left disappointed on Monday with Sky Sports only showing glimpses of the first hour and 20 minutes.
Raducanu is on the comeback charge after missing eight months of action at the end of 2023 having undergone surgery on both her wrists.
The 21-year-old has played down expectations for 2024 as she attempts for a slow rise back to her very best.
But she had a great opportunity to put herself back on the map with a blockbuster clash against world No 2 Sabalenka in the third round of Indian Wells.
However, Sky Sports snubbed the match for Cam Norrie’s match against Gael Monfils on its main tennis channel.
Emma Raducanu faced a tall order against Aryna Sabalenka
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The Raducanu match was available to be streamed via Sky Sports’ app, but some fans didn’t have access to watch anything other than the main tennis channel.
Sky Sports Tennis showed glimpses of Raducanu’s match in the early stages when the British star went down a set and then briefly switched over with Raducanu 4-3 up in the second set with no break of serve.
But it quickly switched back to Norrie’s match after Sabalenka held serve to make it 4-4.
The coverage remained on Norrie’s clash with Monfil going on to complete a remarkable comeback against the British No 1.
After the conclusion of the men’s singles match, Sky Sports switched over to Raducanu’s match against Sabalenka with the world No 2 holding serve to make it 5-5 in the second set.
Fans then saw Raducanu unable to hold serve in the very next game with Sabalenka one game away from winning the match.
The 2021 US Open champion saved three match points, but Sabalenka was able to get the job done in the end.
But some were left furious at not being able to watch the entire match with Sky Sports prioritising Norrie’s clash.
One person frantically asked: “How the hell do I get Raducanu Sabalenka on the Sky Sports tennis red button?”
Aryna Sabalenka won in straight sets
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Another fumed: “Emma Raducanu playing Aryna Sabalenka and Sky decide to prioritise Cam Norrie vs Gael Monfils.”
A third moaned: “Me: Just wanting to watch Raducan v Sabalenka (world No.2) and very competitive. Sky: watch a men’s game and even when it’s on a break either watch the crowd or random other matches. @skysports are u dumb.”
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Emma Raducanu was unable to make it past Aryna Sabalenka
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One other person posted: “@SkySportsTennis Can’t seem to watch Raducanu v Sabalenka with our NowTV subscription – and no women’s sport showing across any of your channels right now. Am I missing something?”
Another message read: “@SkySports you take tennis from Eurosport/Amazon who showed all the matches streamed and now for more money we have to watch your choice of Norrie match over the most anticipated women’s match in the U.K. Raducanu v Sabalenka. Why? Who decided? I hate Sky Sports.”
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