The rise of Emma Raducanu in women’s tennis has earned her a barrage of praise from some of the sport’s former stars.
Raducanu has become the first qualifier – male or female – to reach the final of a Grand Slam tournament after defeating Maria Sakkari in straight sets. The 18-year-old is now set to break into the world’s top 40 next week following her run in what will be a jump of around 300 places since the start of 2021. Raducanu only made her WTA debut in June and has still played just 12 main draw matches heading into her first major final.
Achieving what is the best result of a British woman in a Grand Slam tournament since 1977, many are tipping her to be a star in the future with Mats Wilander leading the praise. Speaking to Eurosport, the Swedish former world No.1 believes she has the ability to go to the very top of the women’s game.
“She is a star – she is going to win multiple Grand Slams for sure, and she deserves to be in the final,” Wilander commented.
“When you are 18 years old and you go into these big matches, you know what you can do. You don’t know what you cannot do, but you know what you can do, and she’s been doing exactly what she’s been doing for nine matches.
“Her level is not going to go below that. She is confident; she is young; she has no fear of the unknown at all; and she is going to be really tough to beat in the final.
“With Raducanu and with Leylah Fernandez, they know how to win. They know how to stay calm in the most important moments. They have a natural gift of not panicking, and that’s amazing. I can’t even explain it.”
Wilander joins a growing list of former legends of the game to speak highly about Raducanu who also reached the fourth round of Wimbledon earlier this year. Martina Navratilova has hailed the teenager for being able to live up to the hype. Navratilova is one of the most decorated Grand Slam winners in the history of tennis with 18 titles in singles, 31 in doubles and 10 in the mixed doubles.
“When you make history you do it at one level or two. Emma is doing it at so many levels,” she said.
“You can’t even think about the repercussions. We’ve been hyping her up but it’s happening. She’s backing it up.”
Former world No.4 Tim Henman, who is working for Amazon Prime during the US Open, describes the achievements of his compatriot as ‘staggering.’ Prior to this year’s tournament, Raducanu had never played a top 20 player on the Tour. However, in New York, she has scored back-to-back straight sets wins over Belinda Bencic and Sakkari.
“It’s an absolutely staggering performance,” Henman told Amazon Prime. “If we just look at the way she came out and played, her quality of tennis from start to finish, she was so resilient. She never flinched.
“She never let up. It was relentless. And then you’ve got to throw in the scenario of being a qualifier, an 18-year-old, with all the legends who have ever played this game at Grand Slam level. She is the first person to qualify and reach the final. It’s simply stunning.
“She deserves all the credit in the world. On the biggest stage in our sport at every opportunity she plays on her terms. It’s incredible to watch. She’ll need to enjoy this tonight and then get ready for Saturday.”
1997 US Open men’s runner-up Greg Rusedski added to Henman’s praise with his own remarks.
“I’m dumbfounded. That performance was worthy of a world No 1, a US Open champion, a multiple Grand Slam champion,” he said.
“The composure, the belief, the handling of the big points. This is her first Grand Slam semi-final and it was like she was playing in the first round. It was astonishing.”
Seeking to become the first British woman to win the US Open since Virginia Wade in 1968, Raducanu faces a tough test in the final against fellow rising star Leylah Fernandez who has already defeated three top five seeds in the tournament.
The women’s final will take place on Saturday.
