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Got to be honest and after all the vast sums of money spent on our 'elite' (don't laugh!) Tennis program, have we finally actually managed to produce a genuine Women's star?
Some here will remember the last successful British player - afraid I struggle to recall her/them well...
18. friggin 18!!!
Amazing really.
US OPEN
Emma Raducanu will be an icon, say stunned tennis stars
Past champions hail teenager’s remarkable surge to US Open final
new
Stuart Fraser, Tennis Correspondent, New York
Friday September 10 2021, 12.00pm, The Times
Tennis
Emma Raducanu, 18, has not lost a set in her run to the US Open final
REX FEATURES
Heavyweights of tennis made bold predictions that Emma Raducanu could dominate the women’s game after she became the first qualifier to reach a grand-slam final.
The 18-year-old Briton, ranked No 150 in the world, continued her relentless run through the US Open, defeating the world No 18 Maria Sakkari in the semi-final 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 24 minutes.
Tomorrow Raducanu plays for £1.8 million against the Canadian Leylah Fernandez, 19, in the first all-teenage grand-slam final since Serena Williams played Martina Hingis at the 1999 US Open. It is shown live on Amazon Prime, which requires a subscription, but the BBC will show highlights and provide commentary on 5 Live.
Highlights from Raducanu's semi-final
Raducanu will be the first British woman to contest the championship match at a major tournament since Virginia Wade won Wimbledon in 1977. “I can’t tell you how exciting it is,” Wade said after watching Raducanu in New York. “Every time you watch her you think she’s going to win every point out there.” She told the BBC that Raducanu would be an “icon for British tennis for I don’t know how long”.
Martina Navratilova, the 18-time grand-slam champion, told Amazon Prime: “When you make history you do it at one level or two. Emma is doing it at so many levels. You can’t even think about the repercussions. We’ve been hyping her up but it’s happening. She’s backing it up.”
Tim Henman said that Raducanu’s performance was staggering and Greg Rusedski, a former US Open finalist, said: “I’m dumbfounded. That performance was worthy of a world No 1, a US Open champion, a multiple grand slam champion.”
For her considerable efforts so far Raducanu has already banked £900,000 and will move up to at least No 32 in the world on Monday. Whatever the result tomorrow, this will be remembered as one of the most remarkable sporting stories.
Virginia Wade, who was the last British woman to contest grand-slam final, at Wimbledon in 1977, watched Raducanu in New York
TIMOTHY A CLARY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
“Honestly the time here in New York has gone so fast,” Raducanu said. “I’ve just been taking care of each day and before you know it I am in the final. I can’t believe it.
“You can’t get ahead of yourself and just need to stay present. Today I wasn’t thinking about anyone else except for myself. Since I’ve been here I’ve had great support. Playing under the lights on Arthur Ashe Stadium is one of the most iconic things in tennis. I was so excited.”
The Duchess of Cambridge, a keen tennis fan and patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, tweeted: “What an incredible achievement at this year’s #USOpen @EmmaRaducanu!’’ We will all be rooting for you tomorrow’. Wishing you the best of luck!”
Boris Johnson tweeted his congratulations, saying: “Well done for a brilliant win. The whole country will be cheering you on in the final.”
“Is there any expectation? I’m a qualifier, so technically on paper there’s no pressure on me”
JASON SZENES/EPA
Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, hailed the win as the “crowning glory of a great summer of British sport”. “Isn’t it wonderful to wake up to that news?” he told Times Radio. “I think she’s a huge tribute to the nation.”
The former British No 1 Jo Durie said on Good Morning Britain that Raducanu’s success was due in part to “her mindset, that she works really hard, and she always has done, to improve, to have that consistency”.
Raducanu’s old school, Bickley Primary School in Bromley, was to hold a special assembly today “first thing to celebrate her achievements”, said the headteacher, Liz Blake. The school’s PE co-ordinator, Basak Kaynak, told Good Morning Britain that pupils had been closely following her success on the court, adding, “she will always be with us and in our thoughts and we are so incredibly proud of her”.
Some here will remember the last successful British player - afraid I struggle to recall her/them well...
18. friggin 18!!!
Amazing really.
US OPEN
Emma Raducanu will be an icon, say stunned tennis stars
Past champions hail teenager’s remarkable surge to US Open final
new
Stuart Fraser, Tennis Correspondent, New York
Friday September 10 2021, 12.00pm, The Times
Tennis
Emma Raducanu, 18, has not lost a set in her run to the US Open final
REX FEATURES
Heavyweights of tennis made bold predictions that Emma Raducanu could dominate the women’s game after she became the first qualifier to reach a grand-slam final.
The 18-year-old Briton, ranked No 150 in the world, continued her relentless run through the US Open, defeating the world No 18 Maria Sakkari in the semi-final 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 24 minutes.
Tomorrow Raducanu plays for £1.8 million against the Canadian Leylah Fernandez, 19, in the first all-teenage grand-slam final since Serena Williams played Martina Hingis at the 1999 US Open. It is shown live on Amazon Prime, which requires a subscription, but the BBC will show highlights and provide commentary on 5 Live.
Highlights from Raducanu's semi-final
Raducanu will be the first British woman to contest the championship match at a major tournament since Virginia Wade won Wimbledon in 1977. “I can’t tell you how exciting it is,” Wade said after watching Raducanu in New York. “Every time you watch her you think she’s going to win every point out there.” She told the BBC that Raducanu would be an “icon for British tennis for I don’t know how long”.
Martina Navratilova, the 18-time grand-slam champion, told Amazon Prime: “When you make history you do it at one level or two. Emma is doing it at so many levels. You can’t even think about the repercussions. We’ve been hyping her up but it’s happening. She’s backing it up.”
Tim Henman said that Raducanu’s performance was staggering and Greg Rusedski, a former US Open finalist, said: “I’m dumbfounded. That performance was worthy of a world No 1, a US Open champion, a multiple grand slam champion.”
For her considerable efforts so far Raducanu has already banked £900,000 and will move up to at least No 32 in the world on Monday. Whatever the result tomorrow, this will be remembered as one of the most remarkable sporting stories.
Virginia Wade, who was the last British woman to contest grand-slam final, at Wimbledon in 1977, watched Raducanu in New York
TIMOTHY A CLARY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
“Honestly the time here in New York has gone so fast,” Raducanu said. “I’ve just been taking care of each day and before you know it I am in the final. I can’t believe it.
“You can’t get ahead of yourself and just need to stay present. Today I wasn’t thinking about anyone else except for myself. Since I’ve been here I’ve had great support. Playing under the lights on Arthur Ashe Stadium is one of the most iconic things in tennis. I was so excited.”
The Duchess of Cambridge, a keen tennis fan and patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, tweeted: “What an incredible achievement at this year’s #USOpen @EmmaRaducanu!’’ We will all be rooting for you tomorrow’. Wishing you the best of luck!”
Boris Johnson tweeted his congratulations, saying: “Well done for a brilliant win. The whole country will be cheering you on in the final.”
“Is there any expectation? I’m a qualifier, so technically on paper there’s no pressure on me”
JASON SZENES/EPA
Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, hailed the win as the “crowning glory of a great summer of British sport”. “Isn’t it wonderful to wake up to that news?” he told Times Radio. “I think she’s a huge tribute to the nation.”
The former British No 1 Jo Durie said on Good Morning Britain that Raducanu’s success was due in part to “her mindset, that she works really hard, and she always has done, to improve, to have that consistency”.
Raducanu’s old school, Bickley Primary School in Bromley, was to hold a special assembly today “first thing to celebrate her achievements”, said the headteacher, Liz Blake. The school’s PE co-ordinator, Basak Kaynak, told Good Morning Britain that pupils had been closely following her success on the court, adding, “she will always be with us and in our thoughts and we are so incredibly proud of her”.
