A closer look at Emma Raducanu’s meteoric rise to flawless US Open campaign
In June this year, Raducanu was 361st in the world rankings and arrived at Wimbledon having played just one senior tour-level match.
British teenager Emma Raducanu has become the first qualifier to reach the semi-finals of the US Open by beating Belinda Bencic in straight sets.
The 18-year-old from Kent won her quarter-final against the 11th seed 6-3 6-4 and will also become the British women’s number one.
Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at Raducanu.
Meteoric rise
In June this year, Raducanu was 361st in the world rankings and arrived at Wimbledon having played just one senior tour-level match. It was a stunning Grand Slam debut as the wild card reached the fourth round at SW19, but her exploits in New York have put that in the shade. She had climbed to 150 in the rankings before the first of her three qualifying matches and an eighth win will now lift her to the brink of the top 50.
Yet to drop a set
Raducanu’s stunning progress is even more remarkable given she has yet to drop a set in a total of eight matches. She defeated Holland’s Bibiane Schoofs, Georgia’s Mariam Bolkvadze and Egypt’s Mayar Sherif in her three qualifiers and in the main draw has beaten Swiss Stefanie Vogele, China’s Zhang Shuai, Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain, American Shelby Rogers and Bencic, all in straight sets.
Mixed heritage
A sporting youth
A recent debut
It is incredible to think that Raducanu only made her first WTA Tour main draw appearance at this year’s Nottingham Open. She lost 6-4 6-3 to compatriot Harriet Dart in the first round before making the quarter-finals of a lower-level tournament at the same venue the following week. That persuaded Wimbledon to offer her a wild card into the main draw and she went on to become the youngest British woman to reach the second week at SW19 in the Open era.
