Emma Raducanu has had an impressive few years. The 19-year-old tennis star from the UK has been making history like it’s the easiest thing in the world. The athlete did it for the Brits by winning the US Open 2021 and then months later winning BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year 2021, the first woman to do so since Zara Tindall in 2006. To say she deserves it is an understatement.
And her star power on the court shows no signs of stopping, considering she just defeated tennis icon Serena Williams, arguably the greatest athlete of all time, during the first round at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.
Raducanu praised the soon-to-be-retired Williams as “inspirational” in a gushing tribute following her win. “We all need to just honor Serena and her amazing career,” she told the crowd. “I’m so grateful for the experience to have been able to play her and for our careers to have crossed over. Everything she has achieved is so inspirational, and it was a true to honor to share the court with her.”
She also shared an Instagram picture of herself shaking Serena’s hand with the caption, “Grateful to have shared the court w you serena.”
So how has this relative newcomer managed to reach such dizzying heights of tennis stardom? Here’s everything you need to know about Emma Raducanu.
Born in Canada, she and her family moved to London when she was two years old. Since then, she’s been a high achiever on and off the tennis court. At just 18, she started Wimbledon ranked 338th in the world before blowing spectators’ minds by becoming the youngest British woman to make it to the round of 16 during the competition’s open era.
While she later withdrew from the fourth round of Wimbledon, citing dizziness and breathing difficulties, she made an incredible comeback by winning the 2021 US Open.
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A few months later, she won BBC’s highly coveted Sports Personality of the Year award.
In her SPOTY winner’s speech, Raducanu said, “It’s such an honor just to be among these nominees. Congrats to you and all your achievements. I’m really happy with this, I’ve watched Sports Personality of the Year growing up, and it’s an honor to be among those past winners.”
“I’m happy for British tennis as well and that we’ve managed to get this award…again!” she added.
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She’s got famous fans.
After her Wimbledon journey, Raducanu told BBC Sport, “I think Wimbledon was an extremely positive experience. I learnt so much just about my game and what it takes to perform at the top.” Her journey also inspired many celebs to share their support of her, including Andy Murray, Marcus Rashford, and Liam Gallagher.
After Raducanu shared an emotional tweet about why she chose to withdraw from Wimbledon, Marcus Rashford tweeted, “You should be very proud of yourself. The country is proud of you. Glad to read your [sic] feeling better. Onwards and upwards.”
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Ahead of her Wimbledon match, Gallagher tweeted, “Get on the Les Dennis tday and get behind Emma Raducanu celestial talent.”
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She’s already a record breaker.
Raducanu is only the fourth British teenager to make the round of 16 at Wimbledon in the so-called open era of tennis, which started in 1968 and basically refers to the time when Grand Slam competitions started allowing amateurs to compete with professionals.
She’s the first qualifier—meaning she had to compete to enter the competition rather than automatically be included due to her ranking—to ever reach a grand slam final in history, let alone win, and the youngest Grand Slam winner since Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon in 2004 at the age of 17.
She recently completed her A-levels.
For the unfamiliar (a.k.a. non-Brits), A-levels are pesky end-of-year exams that are a source of stress for many young people. However, Emma Raducanu breezed through hers, sitting her math and economics literally two months before her Wimbledon debut, according to WTA Tennis.
In an interview, Raducanu said, “Everyone thinks I’m absolutely fanatic about my school results. They think I have such an inflated ego about it.”
She continued, “I think my parents just think I’m crazy. I won’t accept anything less than an A star. I think that’s what people around me think about me. I also feel like I have to live up to that expectation now. That’s why I also work so hard to try and get those grades. I’m not sure what I’m going to come back with, but I did my part, I did my best.”
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She’s taking each day as it comes.
Speaking to WTA Tennis recently, Raducanu said, “I think for me, someone who has not been able to compete much, has always been sort of held back by something, I think that just to be able to be at The Championships, I feel like I’m on a holiday, like it’s unbelievable. I just want to stay here for as long as I can.”
She continued, “I think playing in front of a home crowd definitely helps. I mean, their support is so loud, and they’re so behind me. I’m really grateful. I’ve definitely got that in the back of my mind.”
She’s fearless.
According to Raducanu’s coach, Matt James, she was born to be a star. In an interview with Tennis Head, James said, “You could tell straightaway that she’s pretty special. The mindset and the maturity on the match court you don’t see very often, I hadn’t seen at all really. So that was quite exciting.
“This is the first time she’s fully committed to a tennis career, so it’s great she’s had success so quickly,” he continued. “But it was just a case of when. It was going to be inevitable with her that she was going to burst onto the scene. It’s probably a little bit sooner than I thought because she hasn’t played many matches in the last year but she’s really taken her opportunity. She’s three matches in and physically, she looks strong. She’ll be worrying all the opponents now. I don’t think Emma really fears anyone.”
This post was originally published on Glamour
