Eva Bailey
Emma Raducanu has won her Maiden Grand Slam Title at the US Open at the age of just 18.
The British teenager beat the Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4 6-3, after a nail-biting game of tennis.
Unbelievable. Unforgettable. Unstoppable.@EmmaRaducanu completes her New York fairytale with the #USOpen title 🏆 pic.twitter.com/0xPr98gTeb
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) September 11, 2021
Raducanu entered Wimbledon as the World number 338 just a few months ago. Unfortunately, her time in the tournament was cut short due to anxiety-induced breathing difficulties in her fourth-round match against Alja Tomljanovic.
However, the 18-year-olds performance in the US Open has been nothing short of incredible. The young player didn’t drop a single set on her way to victory.
“It shows the future of women’s tennis and depth of the game is so great,”
Not only is Raducanu the first British woman to compete in a major singles final since 1977, she is also the first ever qualifier to reach a Grand Slam Final since the Open began.
Reporting live for the BBC, Tennis Correspondent Russell Fuller said, “I have never seen anything like this and I suspect if I work in this business for another 20 years I won’t see anything like it.”
“I hope the next generation can follow in the steps of some of the legends, for example Billie Jean right here.”
Former Wimbledon Champion Pat Cash called Raducanu’s performance “mindboggling” on BBC Radio 5 Live. Former British number one Laura Robson dubbed it “almost perfect”.
Speaking after her win, Raducanu noted, “It shows the future of women’s tennis and depth of the game is so great, every player in the draw has a shot at winning any tournament, I hope the next generation can follow in the steps of some of the legends, for example Billie Jean right here.”
Numerous sportspeople have congratulated the British teenager on her win, including footballers Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson.
Look at that bounce back @EmmaRaducanu US Open champion, amazing. Congratulations 👏🏾👏🏾🇬🇧
— Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) September 11, 2021
Raducanu’s former tennis club also shared a congratulatory tweet.
Speaking to Tim Henman after the match, Raducanu said, “It means everything to hold this trophy and I don’t want to let go right now!”
Already a firm favourite for Wimbledon and the Australian Open, it seems that the sky is the limit for this women’s tennis champion.
Featured image courtesy of Valentin Balan via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes have been made to this image.
Eva Bailey
Eva is a first year English and French student at the University of Oxford, with a passion for journalism. She is a proud ambassador for the Holocaust Educational Trust and Zero Gravity. She plays the flute and loves musical theatre, as well as diving into a good book!