Emma Raducanu, 18, surprised the world of sports after being crowned champion of the US Open on September 11.
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This British tennis player was born in Canada to a Romanian father and a Chinese mother; However, for work reasons they had to move to London when Raducanu was two years old.
When I was younger, I was the only girl in my group who did go-karts or motocross, and I thought it was cool.
Since she was little she practiced various disciplines: ballet, skiing, golf, go-karts and tennis, the sport that, later, would take her to the top. At the age of five Raducanu began training at the Bromley Tennis Center, and, at the same time, he competed in kartings, since speed is another of his great passions.
“When I was younger, I was the only girl in my group who did go-karts or motocross, and I thought it was cool.”Declared the US Open champion to Vogue magazine. Being the only woman in a sport that throughout history has been dominated by men already demonstrated the great courage of this tennis player. Over time, motorsports had to take a back seat. its passion and commitment With tennis they were getting older because he had to train more and, in addition, he competed in tournaments on weekends.
Then the British Tennis Federation saw in Raducanu a special and different talent. From there, he began training with Nigel Sears, who has worked with great tennis players, such as Amanda Coetzer, Daniela Hantuchová, Ana Ivanovic, among others. “She is a very smart girl. Think big, which is one of the things that I really liked about her when I met her a few years ago. I think he was born to play tennis and he likes the stage, and he’s eating it (…) Frankly, I think the sky is the limit”, Sears declared to the English media about the potential of Raducanu.
The British made her debut on the circuit of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) last June at the Nottingham Open. There he faced Harriet Dart, his compatriot, and, despite being eliminated in the first round, Raducanu impressed the All England Club, organizer of the Wimbledon Championship, which is why he received a wildcard (a special invitation card) to participate in this year’s edition. This would be Raducanu’s first Grand Slam.
The young tennis player was making a great presentation, as she had gone to the round of 16, where she faced Alja Tomljanovic; however, due to respiratory problems Raducanu had to withdraw from the competition.
Following his participation at Wimbledon, Raducanu stopped training with Sears arguing that he needed to “new eyes and a fresher voice”.
Now the tennis player works with Andrew Richardson, a former British tennis player, with whom he trained when he was 11 years old.
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A month later, Raducanu returned to compete in the WTA 500 in San José, where she was eliminated in the first round after facing the Chinese tennis player Shuai Zhan. Then he participated in two minor tournaments, one of the International Tennis Federation, in which he reached the quarterfinals and the WTA 125 in Chicago, in which he was a finalist.
The US Open would be the second Grand Slam of Raducanu. The British tennis player reached this position occupying position 150, which is why she had to play previous qualifying rounds to guarantee her participation in the main draw.
The British tennis player’s path to success began on August 25, when she beat Bibiane Schoofs 2-0. Then, he achieved two more qualifying victories, against Mariam Bolkvadze and Maiar Sheiff, where he repeated the score of 2-0 against each one.
“I had a ticket to go home at the end of qualifying! It is a great achievement and I am very proud of myself”, Raducanu confessed after securing his participation in the main draw. There he faced and emerged victorious, beating all his rivals: Stefanie Vogele (in the first round), Shuai Zhang (in the second round), Sara Sorribes Tormo (in the third round), Shelby Rogers (in the round of 16), Belinda Bencic, Olympic champion (in the quarter-finals); Maria Sakkari (in the semifinals) and Leylah Fernandez (in the final).
Records
Raducanu broke all odds by becoming the champion of the US Open. The reality is that very few had her on the radar, and no one gave her as a favorite, not because the tennis player had a low level, but because until this year she debuted in the WTA circuit and it was just his second Grand Slam.
The history of the British tennis player’s championship is full of other great feats. In the first place, Raducanu became the first tennis player, between men and women, to win a Grand Slam entering from qualifying rounds. In addition, she was crowned champion without losing a single set in the matches she played, something that Serena Williams had achieved in 2014. In turn, Raducanu is the youngest tennis player to win a Slam since Maria Sharapova in 2004. On the other hand, broke the UK’s 44-year drought without a Grand Slam women’s singles champion, the last of which had been Virginia Wade at Wimbledon 1977. Raducanu is also the youngest Brit to win a Slam. Likewise, she is the tennis player who needed the fewest participations in a Grand Slam to win it. Finally, the 18-year-old British climbed 127 positions from the world ranking and now ranks 23rd.
“I have played great tennis, I have fun and in the end I got a title that I dreamed of, but that I did not think I was going to achieve when I arrived at the tournament to play the qualifying phase.”, Declared the British tennis player after winning the final of the US Open.
The final between Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez (19 years old) is the first final among teenagers of the US Open since 1999, on that occasion Serena Williams, 17, beat Martina Hingis, 18.
Fernandez congratulated Raducanu after being defeated and stated: “She is a very good player, who has been playing incredible these last few months. Today I made a lot of mistakes, I think Emma noticed and took advantage of it. She did well and hopefully we will face each other in many more finals”. For her part, the British tennis player, after defeating Fernandez 6-4 and 6-3, declared: “I congratulate Leylah, first, because he played incredible tennis, beating the best players in the world, a great future awaits him”.
In turn, Queen Elizabeth II published a message praising Raducanu for his title: “I send you my congratulations on your success in winning the US Open. It’s a extraordinary achievement at such a young age, and it’s a testament to their hard work and dedication. I have no doubt that your extraordinary performance, and that of his opponent Leylah Fernandez, will inspire the next generation of tennis players. I send my best wishes to you and your many followers.”.
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Raducanu, in an interview with ‘BBC’, was very excited and surprised by the congratulations of the British monarch. “It meant a lot to receive a message from His Majesty. He is a great inspiration and a role model for the entire country.”, He declared.
Secondly, John McEnroe, one of the best tennis players in history, in an interview with ‘CNN’ commented that he was delighted with Raducanu for what he observed at the US Open. “I don’t think he can do better than he did. It’s crazy that I was able to do this in New York“, he claimed.
I was thinking and I said to myself: ‘if you win this match, you can buy yourself a pair of AirPods’
For winning the US Open title, Raducanu pocketed a prize of $ 2.5 million. The British tennis playerDuring an interview with ESPN, he jokingly said that the first thing he was going to buy with that money was headphones. “Before the first round qualifying game I lost my AirPods and was basically running around the locker room for like three minutes trying to find them, but I lost them. I was thinking and I said to myself: ‘if you win this match, you can buy yourself a pair of AirPods’ Raducanu commented with a laugh.
Sense of responsibility
Another quality that characterizes this tennis player is her high responsability level. If Raducanu did not stand out too much in lower categories, it was because he never gave up his studies, since his commitment to academic training is proportional to his commitment to education. sports level.
In fact, in April of this year he finished his studies at the Newstead Wood School, where he took his final high school exams where he got an A + (the highest grade) in math and an A in economics.
“I think my parents think I’m crazy. I don’t accept anything less than an A. I think that’s what the people around me think of me. I also feel that now I have to be living up to that expectation. This is also why I try so hard to try to get those grades. I’m not sure what grades I’m going to get, but I did my part, I did my best”, He assured in an interview with the WTA.
For his part, Alan Blount, head of Newstead Wood School, told the British newspaper The Times that Raducanu “He approaches everything with determination, hard work, effort and always giving 100 percent”. Likewise, the British tennis player declared, after winning the US Open, that one of the keys to achieving the Grand Slam title was to fully concentrate on her game, avoiding any distraction, such as her cell phone.
They are very difficult to please and have high expectations. So that’s a big determining factor for why I want to perform.
“The biggest triumph for me is how I managed not to think about absolutely anything else except my game plan, what I’m going to run. I completely limited myself and concentrated on my craftRaducanu said.
Family is another of the fundamental things in the tennis player’s life. Ian and Renee Raducanu, Emma’s parents, have been very important in shaping the person that she is today. According to the US Open winner, both her mother and father have taught her to be very demanding of herself, which has allowed her to develop a very strong mindset Since I was a child. In an interview with Vogue, the tennis player stated that her parents “they are very difficult to please and have high expectations. So that’s a big determining factor for why I want to perform.”.
Your parents are the people you want to impress the most in the world. Raducanu explained to the American magazine that, after his participation in Wimbledon, his parents told him: “We are proud of you”And that was all she needed.
Finally, Raducanu, after conquering the world of sports, said that now he does not feel any pressure, and that, on the contrary, he is just trying to enjoy himself. “It is time to disconnect from any future thoughts or plans, from any schedule. I have no idea. Right now, I don’t care about the world, I’m just loving life”, He concluded.
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