Emma Raducanu – finalist in the US Tennis Open 2021 – is the first woman from Great Britain to reach a Grand Slam final in over 40 years! The last woman to have the chance to represent the UK in a Grand Slam final was Virginia Wade, who went on to win the Wimbledon final in 1977. Now Raducanu has this same chance and will hopefully bring home the win for Britain again!
Emma was encouraged by her father to pursue sports from a young age, and tried out swimming, horse riding, ballet, basketball, and go-karts, before moving to motocross. She fell in love with motorsports at 10 after starting on karting as young as 8 years old. She wasn’t even a teenager when she had to make the decision to drop motorsports to focus on her tennis career full-time. But it was obviously the correct decision she made, because at just 18 years old she is achieving things in British sports not achieved in four decades! Emma said she believes the decision “turned out pretty well”.
Raducanu credits her parents and upbringing with her success, saying they have supported and encouraged her since she was very little to approach things with positivity and determination! It was “an absolute no-go if [she] had any sort of bad attitude”, so she learned to tackle the court with focus and grit. This guidance is what led from her first picking up a tennis racket at 5 years old to her representing her country in the US Open final! Thanks to her pro-active approach to sports, Emma’s potential was spotted early in her childhood when she joined the Bromley Tennis Academy.
Having performed a surprising debut earlier this summer by reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon, the young player has surpassed herself, making history while she did, by reaching this final in only her fourth event at this level!
Unfortunately, Emma’s parents won’t be able to attend the match, just as they have been unable to attend the rest of her run in the United States, due to the strict travel restrictions in place right now. But them and the rest of the nation are behind her. The US Open final is being held on Saturday 11th of September at 9pm in the UK!
