![]() Raducanu at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships | |
Country (sports) | ![]() |
---|---|
Residence | London, UK |
Born | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | 13 November 2002
Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1] |
Turned pro | 2018 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Coach | Andrew Richardson |
Prize money | US$2,803,376 |
Singles | |
Career record | 74–22 (77.1%) |
Career titles | 1 |
Highest ranking | No. 22 (20 September 2021) |
Current ranking | No. 22 (20 September 2021) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Wimbledon | 4R (2021) |
US Open | W (2021) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 0–0 |
Career titles | 0 |
Last updated on: 11 September 2021. |
Emma Raducanu (/ræduˈkɑːnuː/;[2] born 13 November 2002) is a British professional tennis player. She has a career-high Women's Tennis Association (WTA) ranking of world No. 23 and is the British No. 1. Raducanu is the reigning US Open champion, and the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Virginia Wade in the 1977 Wimbledon Championships.
Raducanu was born in Toronto to a Chinese mother and Romanian father, and she was raised in London. Raducanu made her WTA Tour debut in June 2021. As a wild card ranked outside the top 300 at Wimbledon, she reached the fourth round in her first major tournament. At the US Open two months later, Raducanu became the first qualifier in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam singles title, beating Leylah Fernandez in the final.
Emma Raducanu was born on 13 November 2002 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her father came from Bucharest, Romania,[3][4] while her mother originates from Shenyang, China.[5][6] She recalled her parents "both came from very academic families... [in] communist countries education was kind of their only option".[7] She and her family moved to England when she was two years old.[8] Raducanu started playing tennis at the age of five.[9] She attended Bickley Primary School followed by Newstead Wood School, a selective grammar school in Orpington, where she obtained an A* in mathematics and an A in economics in her A-Levels.[10] As a child, she participated in various sports and activities, including basketball, golf, karting, motocross, skiing, horse riding, and ballet.[11][12] She is a fan of Formula One.[13]
Raducanu holds both British and Canadian citizenship.[14] She speaks Mandarin, watches Taiwanese television shows, and enjoys Romanian cuisine, courtesy of her grandmother in Bucharest.[15] She also speaks Romanian, which she uses to communicate with her grandmother in Romania.[16]
Raducanu has attributed her mentality and ethics to her role models, tennis players Simona Halep and Li Na (who are from countries of her ancestry).[17]
Raducanu won the ITF Chandigarh Lawn Tennis girls tournament at the beginning of 2018.[18] In 2018 she won ITF grade-3 at Chandigarh and grade-2 junior tournament at New Delhi both in India.[19] Raducanu defeated Diana Khodan of Ukraine in the final at Chandigarh, held at Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association Stadium, where she won in straight sets.[20]
Later that year, she reached the girls' singles quarterfinals at both the Wimbledon Championships and the US Open.[21] At Wimbledon, Raducanu defeated Leylah Fernandez in the second round, a feat she would eventually repeat in the senior US Open final three years later.[22]
Raducanu turned professional in 2018.[23] She alternated between junior and professional tournaments during 2018 and 2019.[24]
In 2019 Raducanu competed in the Solapur Open in Maharashtra. She reached the second round in the Solapur Open women's ITF $25K tennis tournament, retiring in the second round.[25][26] She won the ITF NECC-Deccan $25,000 tournament in Pune, India, in December 2019.[27][28] In the final at Deccan Gymkhana club, she won against Naiktha Bains in three sets. Her semifinal and quarterfinal victories came in three sets.[29] It was her best title victory before winning the 2021 US Open.[30]
In 2020, many tennis events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[31] Raducanu participated in exhibition matches and small tournaments in the United Kingdom. She won the LTA British Tour Masters title in December 2020.[24] She also devoted time to her academic studies, preparing for her A-Levels (which she took in 2021).[32][33]
At the beginning of June, Raducanu made her WTA Tour main draw debut at the 2021 Nottingham Open as a wildcard entry. She lost in the first round to fellow Briton Harriet Dart.[34][35]
In late June, Raducanu made her main draw Grand Slam debut on a wildcard to the 2021 Wimbledon Championships.[36] She advanced to the third round with initial victories over Vitalia Diatchenko[37] and Markéta Vondroušová.[38] She was the youngest British woman to reach the Wimbledon third round since Elena Baltacha in 2002.[39] She then defeated Sorana Cîrstea to reach the fourth round,[23] becoming, at 18 years and 239 days old, the youngest British woman to reach the last 16 in the Open Era,[40][41] and guaranteeing her entry to the world's top 200, having been ranked world No. 338 at the start of Wimbledon.[42][43][44][45] On 5 July 2021, Raducanu retired in the second set of her fourth round match against Ajla Tomljanović, after experiencing breathing difficulties.[46][47]
Raducanu played at the Silicon Valley Classic, the first women's tournament in the annual US Open Series, in August, again receiving a wildcard to enter the tournament.[48] She lost in the first round to Zhang Shuai.[49] She changed her coach during this time from Nigel Sears, father-in-law of former world No. 1 Andy Murray, to Andrew Richardson, one of her youth coaches.[50] In the warm-up to the US Open, Raducanu reached the final of the WTA 125 event in Chicago, where she lost to Clara Tauson.[51] The WTA ranking points she gained brought her to a new career high ranking of world No. 150.
At the US Open, Raducanu beat Bibiane Schoofs, Mariam Bolkvadze, and Mayar Sherif in straight sets in qualifying to enter the main draw. There, she beat Stefanie Vögele, Zhang Shuai, Sara Sorribes Tormo, Shelby Rogers, Belinda Bencic, and Maria Sakkari to reach the final, without dropping a set.[52][53] She gained more than 100 ranking places, entering the top 25 and displacing Johanna Konta to become British No. 1.[54][55][56] She became the only singles qualifier to reach the semifinal[57] and final of the US Open in the Open Era, and the youngest player to reach the final since Maria Sharapova in 2005.[58] She was also the fifth player in the Open Era to make the semifinal on her US Open debut.[59] Following her win over Maria Sakkari in the semifinals, Raducanu became the second player born in 2002 to reach the final of the US Open and the first British woman to reach the US Open final since Virginia Wade in 1968.[60] Wade attended several of Raducanu's matches, including the final.[61]
Raducanu defeated Leylah Fernandez in two sets in what was the first all-teenage women's singles final since the 1999 US Open between Serena Williams and Martina Hingis.[62][63] She won the title without dropping a set, the first woman to do so at the US Open since Williams in 2014. Raducanu was the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam tournament in the Open Era, and the first woman in the Open Era to win a major tournament on her second appearance.[63][64] It also meant that she became just the second US Open debutante after Bianca Andreescu to win the tournament.[65][66]
As a result of her US Open victory, Raducanu rose to No. 23 in the world rankings.[67] She was the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Wade at Wimbledon in 1977, and the first British Grand Slam singles champion since Andy Murray at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships.[68]
Raducanu is an aggressive baseliner. As her playing style is focused on offence, she typically hits a considerable number of winners; despite her aggressive playing style, Raducanu typically minimises unforced errors and focuses on rallying until she creates the opportunity to hit a winner. Raducanu excels at hitting the ball early on the rise, and is adept at redirecting power down the line, taking time away from her opponents; her signature shot is her backhand down-the-line.[69] Her groundstrokes are typically hit very flat, with little topspin applied, allowing her to dictate play from the baseline. Raducanu's greatest strength is her two-handed backhand, which is hit with considerable depth, speed, and penetration; her backhand was described as "world-class" by former British No. 1 Anne Keothavong.[70] Raducanu does have the ability to hit her backhand one-handed with slice, to break up the pace of rallies and disrupt her opponent's rhythm, however, she does not utilise this shot frequently.[71]
Raducanu's forehand is also strong, and she is capable of hitting winners with this stroke, especially when redirecting power down-the-line; her forehand is more volatile than her backhand, however, and is targeted by players acquainted with her style of play. Raducanu possesses an aggressive serve, peaking at 110 mph (177 km/h), allowing her to serve multiple aces per match; this is aided by her consistent ball toss, and accurate serve positioning. Despite this, Raducanu's most effective serve is her wide, sliced serve, with which she can dominate play; she utilised this serve during the 2021 US Open final against Leylah Fernandez on her third championship point, serving an ace to close out the match.[72] Raducanu's second serve is strong, typically being delivered at a higher speed than the WTA average, at 93 mph (150 km/h); however, her accuracy when delivering her second serve confounds opponents, and allows her to dictate play from a frequently defensive position.[73]
One of Raducanu's major strengths is her aggressive return of serve; she typically neutralises strong first serves by returning the ball hard, close to the baseline, and down the middle, cutting off her opponent's angle, and setting herself up for an aggressive second shot. She also frequently punishes short second serves, and she hits many second-serve return winners in any given match.[74][75] When playing defensively, Raducanu excels at absorbing, generating, and redirecting power both down-the-line and cross-court, allowing her to turn defence into offence effectively.[76]
Further strengths include Raducanu's movement, speed, footwork, court coverage, anticipation, and sense of balance, allowing her to rally and defend effectively against aggressive opponents, and to induce unforced errors from such players.[77] She also excels at intelligent point construction, approaching each point with tactical flexibility, making it difficult for opponents to read her game.[78] Despite typically playing from the baseline, Raducanu is a capable net player, attacking short balls with powerful swinging volleys, and she is capable of finishing points at the net. Raducanu possesses an effective drop shot, and can utilise aggressive drop shot/lob combinations to win points when given the opportunity. Due to her aggressive groundstrokes, her highly athletic playing style, and her defensive capabilities, she has been compared to her sporting idols, Li Na and Simona Halep. Despite being comfortable on all surfaces, Raducanu has stated that she prefers hard courts, where she won her maiden Grand Slam title.[79]
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win/loss records.[80]
Tournament | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
French Open | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
Wimbledon | Q1 | Q1 | NH | 4R | 0 / 1 | 3–1 | 75% |
US Open | A | A | A | W | 1 / 1 | 7–0 | 100% |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 10–1 | 1 / 2 | 10–1 | 91% |
Career statistics | |||||||
Tournaments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Career total: 4 | ||
Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Career total: 1 | ||
Finals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Career total: 1 | ||
Overall Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 10–3 | 1 / 4 | 10–3 | 77% |
Year-end ranking | 692 | 503 | 343 | $2,803,376 |
Tournament | Year | Record accomplished | Player tied | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
US Open | 2021 | Singles title in first US Open main draw appearance | Bianca Andreescu | [81] |
Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 2021 | US Open | Hard | ![]() |
6–4, 6–3 |
|
|
Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 1–0 | Sep 2021 | US Open | Grand Slam | Hard | ![]() |
6–4, 6–3 |
Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 0–1 | Aug 2021 | WTA 125 Chicago, United States | Hard | ![]() |
1–6, 6–2, 4–6 |
Legend |
---|
$100,000 tournaments (0–0) |
$80,000 tournaments (0–0) |
$60,000 tournaments (0–0) |
$25,000 tournaments (1–1) |
$15,000 tournaments (2–1) |
Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 1–0 | May 2018 | ITF Tiberias, Israel | 15,000 | Hard | ![]() |
7–6(7–3), 6–4 |
Win | 2–0 | Oct 2018 | ITF Antalya, Turkey | 15,000 | Hard | ![]() |
6–4, 6–2 |
Loss | 2–1 | Mar 2019 | ITF Tel Aviv, Israel | 15,000 | Hard | ![]() |
4–6, 3–6 |
Win | 3–1 | Dec 2019 | ITF Pune, India | 25,000 | Hard | ![]() |
3–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
Loss | 3–2 | Mar 2020 | ITF Sunderland, UK | 25,000 | Hard (i) | ![]() |
6–4, 4–6, 3–6 |
Raducanu's record against players who have been ranked in the top 10. Active players are in boldface.[82]
Player | Years | Record | Win % | Hard | Clay | Grass | Last Match |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number 4 ranked players | |||||||
![]() |
2021 | 1–0 | 100% | 1–0 | – | – | Won (6–3, 6–4) at 2021 US Open |
Total | 2021 | 1–0 | 100% | 1–0 (100%) |
0–0 ( – ) |
0–0 ( – ) |
Last updated 10 September 2021. |
Raducanu ... has a Canadian passport and dual citizenship
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