Tennis
US Open champion Emma Raducanu is a teenage star in vogue
Emma Raducanu’s journey to US Open champion at the age of 18 is even more remarkable given the Briton was the shy youngster who felt she was always “the odd one out”.
Raducanu, who became the first qualifier in history to win a Grand Slam singles crown with victory over Leylah Fernabdez in New York on Saturday , has enjoyed a year beyond her wildest dreams.
When she played Wimbledon in July, it was the first time she had ever appeared in the main draw of a Grand Slam.
A virtual unknown at the start of that tournament, she became the youngest British woman to reach the third round for 19 years.
Even before she travelled to New York, she appeared on the front cover of British Vogue.
At Flushing Meadows, her poise and nerveless play belied her age as she became the darling of fans and the media.
As a child though, the drive instilled in her by her Romanian father Ian and Chinese mother Renee, who insisted she try a range of activities including go-karting, ballet or horse riding, made her feel a bit of an outsider.
“When I was younger, I was the only girl in my group karting or doing motocross, and I thought it was pretty cool,” she explained in Vogue.
“For example, one time, my motocross teacher was like, right, we’re going to do press-ups. I was the only one who could do it, so I was proud of myself for that.”
It was tennis, though, that her teachers identified from the age of five as the sport in which she would shine.
Her primary school teacher Rebecca Rodger said that when the school held tennis coaching, most of the children had difficulty even making contact with the ball.
“But there was Emma having a rally with the coaches. We couldn’t quite believe it. Even then I remember thinking that we were going to see her at Wimbledon,” Ms Rodger told The Times.
Her instinct was spot-on as Raducanu lit up Wimbledon, with a mix of deft stroke play and power hitting far from what one would expect of an international novice.
Also striking was the maturity she showed in fielding questions from the media.
In the end, breathing difficulties forced her to retire from her fourth-round match at the All-England Club.
Role of ‘hero’
However, showing an extraordinary strength of character she has put that behind her to become the first qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final.
She credits her parents for this trait.
“For me, having a Chinese mum, she definitely instilled in me from a young age a lot of discipline and respect for other people into me,” she said.
“I think having parents like I do, they always push me.
“They have high expectations. I’ve always tried to live up to that.”
Fulfilling those high expectations will bring with it unthinkable riches.
The £181,000 (S$336,000) she earned at Wimbledon for reaching the last 16 – her then richest payday – is loose change beside the US$2.5 million (S$3.4 million) she earned at being crowned US Open champion and the endorsements that come with
Already signed up to Nike, Wilson and jeweller Tiffany, more are bound to come her way.
Mr Marcel Knobil, the founder of Brand Council and Superbrands, told The Mirror she fulfils the role of “hero” perfectly.
“Within a couple of years, she can confidently look forward to £10 million in revenue but if she wins the final it could be easily doubled to £20 million,” he told the newspaper.
It is fortunate then that Raducanu has a brain for figures, perhaps inherited from her parents who both work in finance.
At Wimbledon, she claimed she would swop good grades in the English school-leaving A-Level exams – she took Mathematics and Economics in April – for a long run in the tournament. No need to guess what the grades were after the 2021 she is enjoying – an A and an A-plus.
-AFP
Novak Djokovic battled from a set down to clinch his 100th tour-level title by beating Polish sixth seed Hubert Hurkacz 5-7 7-6(2) 7-6(2) at the Geneva Open on Saturday.
The Serbian, who turned 38 on Thursday, becomes just the third man in the Open Era to win 100 ATP titles after American Jimmy Connors and Swiss Roger Federer.
“I had to work for it, that’s for sure. Hubi was probably closer to victory (in) the entire match than I was,” Djokovic said.
“I had some chances in the first set to break his serve, then had a bad game which ended up with the double fault on set point.
“I was just trying to hang in there, I don’t know how I broke his serve… but this is what happens at the highest level. Very few points decide the winner.
“Incredible match, 7-6 in the third with a full stadium, beautiful atmosphere. I’m just grateful to clinch the 100th here.”
Djokovic’s last title came when he won gold at the Paris Olympics last year.
The latest triumph comes at the perfect time as the record 24-times Grand Slam champion bids for a fourth crown at the French Open, which starts on Sunday.
Djokovic banged down six aces and 34 winners in the contest, which lasted a little over three hours and five minutes, making it the longest clash of this year’s tournament.
Hurkacz had squandered a 4-2 lead in the decider as Djokovic clawed his way back to clinch victory in the tiebreak with an ace and stretched his career win-loss record over the 28-year-old Pole to 8-0.
With the triumph, Djokovic is the first man to win a tour-level title in 20 consecutive seasons, with his first title coming at 2006 Amersfoort. He is also the oldest champion in Geneva Open history.
Djokovic, currently ranked world number six, will face unseeded American Mackenzie McDonald in the opening round at Roland Garros.
Reuters
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Novak Djokovic marked his 38th birthday in style on Thursday, defeating Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 6-4 to reach the Geneva Open semi-finals and continue his pursuit of a 100th career title.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion avenged last month’s Madrid Open loss to the Italian and will next face Britain’s Cameron Norrie, who rallied to defeat Australian Alexei Popyrin 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.
“It’s great to be in the semi-finals again. Hopefully this year I can go at least a step further, that’s the goal,” said Djokovic, who lost to Tomas Machac in last year’s quarter-finals.
“I think I’m playing really good tennis. A straight-sets win, but it was much closer than the score indicates.”
After taking the first set, Djokovic trailed 4-1 in the second but stormed back with five consecutive games to seal the win in one hour and 40 minutes.
The former world No. 1 admitted that smashing his racket in frustration helped him reset mentally and close out the match in straight sets.
“After the racquet breaking I kind of found my optimal state and balance mentally and emotionally to be able to play my best tennis when it was most needed,” Djokovic, who was presented with a birthday cake on court, said.
Djokovic is bidding to become only the third man in history to win 100 ATP titles, after Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103).
-Reuters
The Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA) has filed a lawsuit against the sport’s governing bodies, accusing them of anti-competitive practices and a disregard for player welfare.
The PTPA, an independent players’ union co-founded by Novak Djokovic in 2019, said on March 18 that after years of good-faith efforts to reform professional tennis, it had been forced to take legal action to end “monopolistic control” of the sport.
In a statement, it said that along with more than a dozen players, the PTPA had filed papers in a New York court against the ATP Tour, the WTA Tour, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
“Tennis is broken,” said Ahmad Nassar, executive director of the PTPA.
“Behind the glamorous veneer that the defendants promote, players are trapped in an unfair system that exploits their talent, suppresses their earnings, and jeopardises their health and safety.
“We have exhausted all options for reform through dialogue, and the governing bodies have left us no choice but to seek accountability through the courts. Fixing these systemic failures isn’t about disrupting tennis, it’s about saving it for the generations of players and fans to come.”
In response, the ATP accused the PTPA of choosing “division and distraction” and having no meaningful role in the sport.
“We strongly reject the premise of the PTPA’s claims, believe the case to be entirely without merit, and will vigorously defend our position,” it said in a statement.
“ATP remains committed to working in the best interests of the game – towards continued growth, financial stability, and the best possible future for players, tournaments, and fans.”
The WTA defended its record of growing women’s tennis, describing the lawsuit as “baseless”.
“Every decision taken at the WTA Board level includes the input of players via their elected Board representatives, and athletes receive substantial financial rewards and other benefits from participation in the WTA,” the organisation said.
The ITF, meanwhile, stressed its goal is to ensure the growth of tennis as a global sport.
“As a not-for-profit organisation and global guardian of the game… we reinvest 90 per cent of our income into the global development of the game, via our 213 member National Associations,” an ITF spokesperson said.
Describing the various governing bodies as a “cartel”, the PTPA, which has also begun legal action in Britain and the EU, accuses them of paying “artificially low compensation to professional tennis players” and imposing a “draconian” ranking system that forces them to compete in certain tournaments.
The lawsuit also calls the schedule unsustainable, says players are made to play in extreme heat and often in the early hours of the morning, that tennis balls chosen by the tournaments are a factor in chronic injuries and that players’ privacy rights are being abused by random drug tests.
Prior to filing the lawsuit, the PTPA said it met with more than 250 players across the tours, including the majority of the men’s and women’s top 20.
“The overwhelmingly positive player feedback was a resounding confirmation – change is needed now, and players are united in their fight for reform,” the statement added.
Serbia’s 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic has been a fierce advocate for change to the organisation of tennis, insisting that the revenues generated by the sport are not fairly shared out to players.
“Women and men who are around 200 and lower ranked in the world, they are struggling a lot,” he said in a CBS 60 Minutes interview in 2023.
“They can’t afford a coach, they can’t afford travels, they skip tournaments, many of them leave tennis who are super talented and maybe capable of reaching great heights.”
The ITIA, which manages the sport’s anti-doping and anti-corruption programmes, responded to the lawsuit by saying: “Any credible international sport requires robust anti-doping and anti-corruption programmes, and we are proud of our role in contributing to a clean and fair sport.”
-Reuters
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