Emma Raducanu: from unknown to Wimbledon champion

It was a moment that completely turned the tennis world upside down. On September 11, 2021, after eight consecutive victories without dropping a single set, the then eighteen-year-old Emma Raducanu reached the final of the US Open. In a thrilling battle, she defeated Canadian Leylah , again without dropping a set . Fernandez , making history as the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam singles title. She also climbed an impressive 127 places in the WTA Ranking, suddenly reaching No. 23 in the world after the tournament. It's the story of the young Briton who, besides the US Open, has yet to win a single WTA title.  

Name: Emma Raducanu 
Born on: November 13, 2002 
Nationality: British 
Tennis hand: Right 
Current WTA Ranking: 56  

From Toronto to Bromley  

Emma Raducanu was born in Toronto, Canada, to a Romanian father and a Chinese mother. At two years old, she moved with her family to the United Kingdom, where she grew up in Bromley , a city south of London. Little Raducanu started playing tennis at the age of five, inspired by her parents—also athletic—and her talent and perseverance were quickly noticed.  

Raducanu 's tennis training began at the Bromley Tennis Academy, and at the age of fifteen, she made her debut on the ITF circuit. In 2019, after a successful junior career, she decided to take the leap to the professional level. Two years later, in June 2021, she was given her first WTA tournament tryout in her career (in Nottingham). Although she lost her first round there to fellow British Harriet Dart, a wildcard allowed her to prove herself at Wimbledon, where she immediately reached the fourth round.  

A major stunt at the US Open  

Thanks to her strong performance that season, Raducanu was also invited to New York later that year to try to reach the main draw of the US Open through qualifying. The rest is history: the eighteen-year-old Raducanu breezed through qualifying and caused a stir in the main draw, effortlessly defeating one experienced tennis player after another. When Belinda Bencic (quarterfinals) and Maria Sakkari (semifinals) also fell victim, Raducanu reached her first Grand Slam final . There, she also defeated Fernandez , completing the upset.  

Pressure and injuries cause a sharp decline  

Raducanu stormed into the world's top twenty and was naturally seen as a great promise for the future. However, from that point on, the British woman's career took a turn for the worse. The pressure of professional tennis, combined with the high expectations placed on her shoulders, took its toll, and when she also suffered a series of injuries in late 2022 and 2023, a significant drop in the WTA rankings could not be prevented.  

Despite this, Raducanu didn't give up and worked hard to get back on top. She's now back in the world's top 100, and who knows what else she has in store for the coming years. One thing's for sure: she's got the talent, and the tennis world undoubtedly hasn't seen everything the still-young Emma Raducanu has to offer !