British tennis sensation Emma Raducanu says her shock run to the US Open title is slowly starting to sink after spending her first night back in the UK watching a replay of her final match.
In New York the 18-year-old stunned the women’s draw by coming through qualifying en route to winning the title. In all 10 matches she played Raducanu didn’t drop a seat despite taking on top 20 players Maria Sakkari and Belinda Bencic. In the final she defeated Canada’s Leyleh Fernandez.
The fairytale run has rewritten the history books for various reasons. The Brit, who was playing in the main draw of a Grand Slam for only the second time in her career, is the first ever qualifier to win a major title. She is also the first female player from her country to win a Grand Slam since Virginia Wade in 1977 and the third-lowest-ranked woman to win a major in WTA rankings history.
On Friday the world No.23 spoke to various British morning TV shows about her meteoric rise in tennis over such a short period of time. The US Open was only the fourth main draw she has played on the WTA Tour so far in her career.
“I think it’s gradually sinking in a bit more. Last night I re-watched the final and tried to relive a couple of the moments and remember how it felt,’ Raducanu told BBC Breakfast.
“But it’s still such a whirlwind of an experience. I’ve loved every moment of it. It is something that is very difficult to fully comprehend.
“When I was watching it, it almost feels like that’s not me who’s playing and pulling off some of those shots. I knew exactly what was going to happen but still there’s some very tense moments and I was really proud of how I came through some moments.
“And the timeout at the end, I didn’t realise how stressful that was watching on TV.”
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), who are the governing body of British Tennis, are hoping they will be able to capitalise on Raducanu’s US Open triumph through an increase level in participation rates in the country. Various clubs this week have noticed a surge in tennis court bookings. So much so that ironically Raducanu is struggling to get one in her local area.
‘I can’t get a tennis court either. I still can’t get a court. It means a lot that tennis is so popular now,” she told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
One of the most striking aspects of Raducanu is how mature she appears to be considering her age. She was born in Canada but moved to the UK at the age of two. Her father is Romanian and mother is Chinese who have both worked in the finance section. She credits her parents for making her so level-headed.
Therefore, it is unsurprising that Raducanu isn’t getting too carried away when it comes to what she plans to do with her £1.8M US Open prize money.
‘I haven’t bought anything yet. I know tennis is an extremely expensive sport so the money will go towards that. I don’t really think of the money side of it. I know there are lots of taxes and expenses. I haven’t logged onto my bank, I’ve just been at home and in the moment,” she said.
Now being dubbed as potentially one of the most marketable athletes in the world by some marketing experts. Raducanu is already rubbing shoulders with some of the world’s best-known celebrities. Earlier this week she received a last-minute invite to the prestigious Met Gala in New York. Both of the Williams sisters, Maria Sharapova, Matteo Berrettini and Felix Auger-Aliassime also attended the event.
“I was so grateful to get the opportunity to go. The performances were amazing. I managed to see Lewis Hamilton, which was really cool because I’m a huge motorsports fan.” Raducanu commented.
Finally, speaking to Sky News via Zoom, the teenager said she hopes her recent success will help inspire others in both tennis and other aspects of their lives.
“Even if it’s not tennis, even it’s to be a doctor, I just want to inspire them to dream big and anything can happen,” she told presenter Jacquie Beltrao.
“I just want to get across the message that you can be a normal kid and go to school and do normal things and still achieve results and I think that’s my main message to all the kids.”
