“With a fascinating and moving 6-4, 6-3 victory over Canadian Leylah Fernandez, Britain’s 18-year-old Emma Raducanu is celebrated as the newly minted women’s champion of the US open, the youngest Grand Slam singles winner in 17 years.
The young blood in Emma Raducanu made herself ever celebrated with her unparalleled skill and unassuming personality which paved the way for the British to rewrite their history of sports. Raducanu became the first female grand slam winner of Britain since Virginia Wade won Wimbledon in 1977. Britain had to wait for four decades and another four years to see a Britisher bringing the Wimbledon trophy home.
Amidst a huge roar of the crowd and acknowledging it with a gentle wave of her left hand, while decorating her face with a confident smile, Emma was seen, walking onto the court for her first grand slam final.
Confident
Raducanu had already known the potential of her opponent Canadian Leylah Fernandez. But, in contrast, Raducanu seemed rather confident right from the very beginning. Thumping a backhand cross-court on the last point while jumping up and down, Raducanu slowly grabbed the attention of the spectators to her side.
She seemed fearless and rather confident. Undoubtedly, the crowd became absolutely impressed by Raducanu’s amazing brilliance of handling herself on the court. At the tender age of 18, she could make the entire crowd overwhelmed with her unique ability of staying calm and cool even amidst extreme pressure where she showcased her true sense of professionalism.
Raducanu maintained a unique ability, at 18, in only her second grand slam tournament to endure pressure from Fernandez. The commentators say that despite Fernandez saved five break points in the first game, Raducanu remained in zero panic; no change in her body language. As she eventually secured the break, she jumped her first and yelled “Come on”. Fernandez was rather adamant and Raducanu had a tough time with Fernandez’s defensive skills.
First set
Contrary to that the British player was smartly strategic. A reputed sports correspondent noted, “A big serve at the right time and a thumped backhand or forehand saved break points and even when she was broken, as she was at 2-0 in the first set, she bounced back immediately”. Nerviness also slightly prevailed, as she narrowly missed a drive volley serving at 3-3, 15-15. However, Raducanu stood steady and showcased her best rally out of the first set to hold at 4-3.
As the possibility of winning the opening set came and went in the 10th game, Raducanu was not troubled and continued to play in her natural style; she tightened her aggressive stance in the game with the “Never Give Up” approach.
“As the first set was finished, she was seen standing still for a couple of seconds, prior to thumping her fist and yelling ``Let’s go”,” a reporter noted.
Raducanu won nine matches in a row, which included three in qualifying. Each match was won without losing a set. She knew that the momentum was already with her; true that you cannot win as long as you do not endure the difficult moments and fight back.
“As she fell to 2- 1, she bounced back again to break straight back for 2-2 with a stunning backhand return,” a radio journalist at the site announced.
Fernandez has had tremendous success and wins over outstanding players such as Aryna Sabalenka, Elina Svitolina and Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka where Raducanu knew that Fernandez would not give up. As evaluated by sports critics, the New-York crowd was typically very much behind the Canadian, mostly due to their desire to watch the most critical, outstanding and courageous quality of both players.
Born in Canada
Simon Cambers, a prominent print media correspondent declared, “At 2-2, Raducanu seemed to grow again, holding serve under pressure and then, guessing right, ripping a brilliant forehand winner down the line to break for 4-2”.
Cambers himself being an ardent tennis fan perhaps couldn’t wait to further declare his uttermost excitement on the remarkably outstanding player in Raducanu and said, “Two games from victory, the finishing line in sight, the heart must have been racing but her mind was clear.
Eighteen years of age, closing in on victory, it looked like she was just having a friendly hit in the park”. Whatever it is, you know that the toughest thing to do in tennis is winning the last game and the last point. Eventually Virginia Wade, the last British woman to win a grand slam singles title took a deep breath,” Cambers concluded.
Emma Raducanu was born in 2002 in Ontario, Canada to Ian and Renee Raducanu. Her parents are of Romanian and Chinese origin, working in the finance industry. When Emma was two, her parents had relocated to London. The giant behind Emma’s greatest and historical achievement at the record breaking grand slam glory in New-York on September 11, 2021 is none other than Raducanu’s coach Andrew Richardson, a former British Davis cup player.
Correspondent Mike Dickson writes, “No coach has known Raducanu better than the former British Davis cup player and that is how Richardson found himself at the center of this extraordinary story”. Richardson declared, “I’ve known Emma a long time. She has many strengths: some of them you can see, some you can’t see. For me, the biggest strength is the mind”. Richardson further noted, “I think a lot of it’s to do with her upbringing, the core values. She’s always had that; I don’t think it can be coached. It’s about parenting and I think her parents should take a lot of credit.”
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