US Open 2021: Tennis Queen Emma Raducanu even impresses the Queen - "I enjoy life"
Out of nowhere to the new tennis queen. EmmaRaducanu's sensational triumph at the US Open sends the British into euphoria.
by SID
last edit: Sep 12, 2021, 01:20 pm
Elegant black evening dress, gold earrings - and of course the polished silver cup firmly in her arms: when the new British tennis queen Emma Raducanu posed for historic photos late on Saturday evening in New York, she still had no idea what a wave of enthusiasm was she had triggered in her home country.
"I haven't checked my cell phone yet," said the 18-year-old hours after her sensational triumph at the US Open: "I have absolutely no idea what's going on outside of the small world in which we are here." The congratulations from Queen Elizabeth II, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and numerous other celebrities from sport and show business initially came to nothing. Raducanu just wanted to enjoy the moment.
Raducanu ends the drought
Before that, the whiz kid had achieved something that British sports fans had to wait 44 years for - the first women's Grand Slam victory since Virginia Wade in 1977 at Wimbledon. As the first ever qualifier, she managed such a coup. And then without losing a sentence.
At the age of 76 and with tears of emotion in her eyes, Raducanu's predecessor watched from the stands in Arthur Ashe Stadium, like the surprise winner in the blue-white-red tinsel rain after her 6: 4, 6: 3 triumph against Leylah Fernandez from Canada, who was just two months older and just as sensational, lifted up.
Congratulations from the Royal Palace and 10 Downing Street followed promptly. "This is a remarkable achievement at such a young age and shows your hard work and dedication," said the real queen. Premier Johnson congratulated him on "extraordinary skill, composure and courage". Gary Lineker could hardly concentrate on his role as a football television expert. And Boris Becker, who lives in London, recognized the birth of a new star player.
Raducanu's coup came out of nowhere, she hasn't even won a match on the WTA tour yet. "Anyone who predicted such an unlikely triumph at the start of this remarkable tournament would have been promptly taken away by the men in the white coats," wrote the Sun. And for the Guardian it was "one of the most amazing breakthroughs in living memory" that made Raducanu "forever the Grand Slam champion".
"One of the most amazing breakthroughs in living memory"
The life of the daughter of a Chinese mother and a Romanian father changes in one fell swoop. She is 2.5 million US dollars (approx. 2.1 million euros) richer and has jumped from 150th place in the world rankings to 23. As a no-name in the scene, she is no longer perceived.
But Raducanu initially had no time to look ahead, she was too caught up in the moment of triumph. She has absolutely no idea what to expect, she said and beamed again: "At the moment I don't care about anything, I just enjoy life."
How things will continue for Raducanu after this modern tennis fairy tale is of course still in the stars. However, there do not seem to be any limits at the moment. The 18-year-old doesn't want to worry about that for the time being: "Now I just love my life."
Here the single tableau in New York City
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