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
Argentina’s 36-year-old Marco Trungelliti proved tennis dreams do not come with an expiration date when he became the oldest first-time tour-level finalist in the Open Era after beating the top seed at the Grand Prix Hassan II semi-finals in Marrakech on Saturday.
Trungelliti, who came through the tournament’s qualifiers, upset Italy’s defending champion Luciano Darderi 6-4 7-6(2) to break the previous record held by Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic, who reached his first final aged 34 years in 2015.
Darderi, ranked 19 in the world, was only six-years-old when Trungelliti turned pro in 2008. With the victory, Trungelliti secured just his second career top-20 win.
“Of course, I believed it, that’s one of the reasons that I’m here. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible,” Trungelliti said in the on-court interview.
“I’ve worked a lot, me and my team and also my wife, my kid. We all believed in breaking the record basically and that’s exactly what we have done now.”
The milestone caps a remarkable journey for Trungelliti, who made his first ATP Tour semi-final in 2018 in Umag, Croatia – 402 weeks ago.
Having entered the tournament ranked 117 in the world, Trungelliti’s breakthrough week has already guaranteed he will crack the top 100 for the first time. He is currently ranked number 75 in the live rankings.
“It’s been happening the whole week, leaving the court with a victory,” added Trungelliti, who has dropped only one set at the tournament. “So hopefully (there) is one more to go.”
He will face Rafael Jodar on Sunday after the Spaniard prevented an all-Argentine final with a 6-2 6-1 victory over Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
-Reuters
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Serena Williams has been listed as eligible to return to tennis by the sport’s drug-testing body (ITIA) as of February 22, though it remains unclear whether the 23-time Grand Slam champion will make a stunning comeback to the women’s tour.
The 44-year-old raised eyebrows late last year after rejoining the tennis anti-doping testing pool, though she denied at the time the move signalled she was preparing to return to the sport she dominated for nearly two decades.
She reignited speculation last month when she deflected questions about a possible return during an appearance on NBC’s “Today” show.
The Women’s Tennis Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.
Williams, who won her last Grand Slam singles title in 2017, has not competed since the 2022 U.S. Open.
-Reuters
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Serena Williams has re-entered the tennis anti-doping testing pool but the 23-times Grand Slam champion denied on Tuesday that the move had anything to do with her making a return to the sport she dominated for nearly two decades.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency confirmed to Reuters that Williams, who has not competed since the 2022 U.S. Open, was among the list of players in its testing pool, which requires individuals to provide their whereabouts at any given time, every day, and participate in random testing
But as the story of 44-year-old Williams’ inclusion on the list, first reported earlier on Tuesday by The Athletic, gained traction and sparked talk about her potential return, the tennis great took to social media to deny a comeback was in her plans.
“Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy,” Williams wrote on X.
Her agent did not immediately respond to an email from Reuters asking why the player had re-entered the testing pool.
Williams’ name appears on the ITIA website’s list of retired players and would be able to return to a sanctioned event after making herself available for out-of-competition testing for at least six months.
Last week former world number one Williams posted a series of photos on Instagram showing herself on a tennis court with her youngest daughter, Adira River, whom she gave birth to in August 2023.
In August 2022, ahead of her final U.S. Open, Williams announced in a Vogue article that she was “evolving away from tennis.”
Williams, who won her last Grand Slam singles title in 2017, had been chasing an elusive 24th crown that would have drawn her level with Australian Margaret Court, who holds the record.
The American came tantalisingly close to achieving that feat, featuring in four major finals since giving birth to her first daughter, Olympia, in 2017.
-Reuters
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