Wimbledon is viewed by many as an ultimate test in the tennis world, a prestigious competition where plenty of tennis greats have succeeded.
But for Emma Raducanu Wimbledon was just a warmup.
Raducanu is the name on everyone’s lips at the moment and with very good reason.
If you didn’t already know and have been living under a rock over the weekend, the 18-year-old British tennis player defeated the odds to beat Canadian Leylah Fernandez and won the 2021 US Open, lifting the trophy in New York on Saturday night (GMT).
Doubters were out in force after the current British number one withdrew from her round of 16 match at Wimbledon in July, with some claiming she couldn’t handle the pressure and she had a lot to learn before she could reach the heights of success.
But surely this huge victory will prove the naysayers wrong.
It’s safe to say that in many ways Raducanu isn’t like most 18-year-olds, I don’t see her spending her well-earned £1.8million reward money on a boozy trip to Magaluf or putting it towards club nights during fresher’s week – but she has revealed the first thing she’s going to buy is a pair of AirPods to replace her previous pair she lost.
As if the Toronto-born tennis player wasn’t impressive enough, following her win across the pond she had a lot of international media work to do and she chose to record a message for China’s only English Sports TV show, CGTN Sports Scene, in fluent Mandarin which no doubt she was taught from her mother Renee who is from Shenyang in China's north-eastern Liaoning Province and it has now been viewed over a million times.
Is there anything she can’t do?
And just to reiterate, she’s only 18 years old.
It appears she’s going to have an unstoppable career if this is the kind of success she’s experiencing as a teenager.
It then won’t come as a surprise that the Lawn Tennis Association has predicted that due to Raducanu’s high achieving summer grassroots tennis is going to benefit greatly with a brand new generation being inspired by the Bromley resident and wanting to try their hand at the sport.
Inspiring young and older people alike to try something new is a major achievement in itself and something Raducanu should be immensely proud of.
And there has been no shortage of well know names showing how proud they are of the reigning US Open champion, most notably HRH Queen Elizabeth who wrote Raducanu a personal message which was been published on the Royal Family’s website, she said: “It is a remarkable achievement at such a young age and is testament to your hard work and dedication.
“I have no doubt your outstanding performance, and that of your opponent Leylah Fernandez, will inspire the next generation of tennis players.”
Raducanu plans to frame this message from the monarch and is deeply grateful to have her talents and success recognised by “a great inspiration and role model for the whole country,” she told the BBC.
We’d better get used to hearing the name Emma Raducanu for years to come - she’s only just warming up.
Words by Lucy Roberts for Female First, who you can follow on Twitter, @Lucy_Roberts_72.
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