Simon Jordan flies off the handle after Emma Raducanu asked for crying child to be ejected

Simon Jordan unleashed an extraordinary rant calling for age restrictions at sporting events after the incident in Emma Raducanu's Cincinnati Open match. The Brit controversially had to ask for a crying child to be ejected after she was distracted.

The world No. 33 was midway through her third-round match against Aryna Sabalenka when the infant could be heard from the stands at a critical point in the clash.

Raducanu was serving in the eighth game when she stopped in her service action to point out that a child in the crowd was crying. The 22-year-old gestured towards the audience and said to the umpire: "It's been, like, 10 minutes," as she paused the match. The umpire fired back: "It's a child. Do you want me to send the child out of the stadium?".

READ MORE: Emma Raducanu stops match and asks crying child to be EJECTED from stadium

READ MORE: Emma Raducanu leaves Aryna Sabalenka saying 'we need to take action' after Brit's loss

A large section of the crowd shouted: "Yes!" but it wasn't clear if the fans in question left their seats or not. Three-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka was magnanimous after winning 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(5), setting up a fourth-round duel against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. But talkSPORT pundit Jordan was left with a sour taste in his mouth after watching the exchange and launched into an angry rant.

"Well, you can make it appropriate," the former Crystal Palace chairman said passionately, responding to host Jim White suggesting that sports events such as these can't ban children. "If they've got a baby inside an auditorium: A, I don't think it's particularly responsible parenting. And B, it's not reflective of the environment a child should probably be in!

"And C, you've then got the distraction that tennis player, or anyone playing an individual sport that requires a degree of concentration, is going to be affected by.

"So it's not me being some horrid, Wackford Squeers from some Charles Dickens book. It's me looking at it going, 'It's ridiculous. I wouldn't bring a young child. Theatres don't allow people to bring young children into auditoriums when actors are in the middle of acting so a kid can scream out and spit his dummy across the room.'"

Jordan, who is known for being controversial and having strong opinions, then doubled down by reiterating his view that it's not appropriate for infant children to be present at such sporting events. However, White took a far more lenient view of the matter and laughed off Jordan's protest before calling for a softer approach.

"You can take a baby on a plane," came White's reply, suggesting it would be silly to have varying rules for different public settings. However, the Scot could only chuckle when Jordan responded: "I don't suppose the pilot would want the baby in the cockpit, would he?"

White continued to present the argument that it would be foolish to suggest babies be barred from attending major sporting events. But Jordan continued his tirade, adding: "I think it's ridiculous. Okay, bring [a baby] to snooker then. A screaming kid in snooker. Judd Trump leaning down to make [a shot]...'WAAAAHHHH [mimicking a baby's cry]!' That would be great, wouldn't it?

"Bring them to the boxing, so they can watch blood and [thunder]. Get them to bare knuckle fighting, so they can get involved with that too!"

White brought up the example of young children regularly attending football matches, to which Jordan made the counterpoint that it's not the same as bringing a baby. He went on to suggest there should be some form of age cut-off for certain events, with tennis among those disciplines that require more concentration by an individual athlete.

Raducanu, meanwhile, will have to lick her wounds and go again after narrowly losing to Sabalenka in the action-packed match. The Brit will now head to the US Open and be feeling confident despite the loss, having put in some impressive performances since Wimbledon.

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.