“Emma Randucandu’s Astounding Win at the U.S. Open 2021 is ground-breaking in the world of tennis.”
18-year-old British tennis player, Emma Randucanu, recently demolished all of the competitors in the 2021 U.S. Open, achieving her first major title and rising to No. 22 in the WTA and No.1 in Britain. Originally ranked 150th in the world, she overwhelmed players with higher rankings. Raducanu won in straight sets against world renowned players like Maria Sakkari (Greece) and Belinda Bencic (Switzerland), No. 7 and No. 4 in the WTA, respectively. She is the first-ever qualifying British player to win a Grand Slam in the Open Era. This astonishing event will go down in history as one of the greatest underdog moments in the history of sports.
Randucanu was born to a Chinese mother and Romanian father in Toronto in 2002. When she was young, her family moved to the UK. She started to play tennis at the age of 5. Her dad was her biggest inspiration, and they often played regularly at Bromley Tennis Centre. She showed great amounts of potential from an early age. Randucanu finished third in the Orange Bowl 14U category, and fifth in the 12U category. She won a Bronze Medal at the 12U Winter European Cup and won a Tennis Europe event in each of the following age groups: 11U (Bressuire), 12U (Braga), and 14U (Zoetermeer). She also won UK National Champion titles at 9U, 12U, and 16U. In her major debut match, earlier this year, she reached the last 16 of Wimbledon 2021. Due to dizziness and difficulty breathing, the medical team asked her to withdraw from the 4th round match against Ajla Tomaljovanic. She later stated in a tweet that “the whole experience” had caught up with her and it was “the hardest thing in the world”. Her withdrawal placed a great amount of pressure on her, but despite that, she achieved a stunning win in the U.S. Open later in the year.
Starting the two weeks on August 24, 2021, in which the U.S. Open took place, Raducanu won all her matches in the U.S. Open without dropping a set. She is the first woman to have done this since Serena Williams in 2014. After her win, she is the youngest Briton to win a Grand Slam title, the youngest women’s Slam champion since Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon in 2004, and she’s the first British female winner at Flushing Meadows since Virginia Wade in 1968. Raducanu recalled that it was “an absolute dream.”
Aidan Schwartz ‘25, the manager of the girls’ tennis team, stated that she was “willing to step in on balls” that were played. Schwartz also included that she had “a very reliable serve”, which “relieved pressure of holding serves.” Many people all over the tennis world realized that because she was young her brave personality told her to just go for the ball, which put pressure on many of the veteran players. Her speed and agility make her an extremely difficult opponent. Despite her numerous strengths, like her reliable serve and powerful backhand, she does have one weakness. No. 49 Zhang Suhai, Raducanu’s second-round opponent, shows a little insight on her forehand, Shuai says that “if she improves the forehand she is going to be a top player. She is composed, but at the same time was embracing the New York crowd.”
Throughout the Open, it was seen that many well-known players were not participating. Jessica Wang ‘25, second singles of the GA Varsity Girls’ Tennis Team, stated that “well-known Americans including Sloane Stephens, Serena Williams, Madison Keys, and Coco Gauff ” were not in the second round. As Ranucandu didn’t play in these matches, this “set up the stage for an under-dog performance”. Both Schwartz and Wang remarked that “the crowd was on her side after the first couple games.” The support and cheers from a crowd increase a player’s chances of winning. This boost proved useful, especially after the emotional stress from her previous Wimbledon match. In her final match against Leylah Fernandez, Raducanu’s game, a rare mix of power and precision, proved too much for Fernandez, a quick and fearless counterpuncher who possesses deceptive power as well. On the final day of the U.S. Open 2021, though, in front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium where the crowd blanketed both players with love, Fernandez simply ran out of points and punches, as Raducanu’s laserlike shots to the deepest parts of the court kept landing just beyond the other teenager’s reach. Nearing the end of the match against Fernandez, Ranucandu overcame a new medical injury, a cut on one of her legs, when reaching for the former’s serve. After her heartbreaking withdrawal from Wimbledon 2021, Ranucandu conquered the abrasion and continued to play, bringing about her win of 6-4 6-3.
Her amazing game is a wonder that definitely left most people in shock, but this victory might not help her continue her success in the future. Wang said “if she plays as well as she did in the U.S. open this year, I believe she will be very successful”, but she later goes on to say, “Knowing that women’s tournaments often have new players coming in and winning and then not winning that much anymore, it’s not certain she will come out to be one of the top in the next few tournaments.” Despite her being a young and promising player, she might not uphold the title. Very recently, after the Open, Raducanu lost in the Indian Wells Masters tournament in the Round of 64 to Belarusian tennis player Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who has won eleven singles and seven doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. This crippling result might very well cut down on her amazing win at the U.S. Open.
In the face of all this, Ranucandu has definitely inspired many young tennis players all over the world. The Queen, the prime minister, and tennis royalty have led the plaudits to British sport’s newest superstar. Queen Elizabeth even said it was such “a remarkable achievement at such a young age.” Bethan Lewis, a non-executive director at Tennis Wales, told BBC Radio Wales the world had been gripped by “Emma fever”. “She’s so likable, she’s so determined, she’s full of energy and she’s having the time of her life on the court,” she said, “For young children particularly, just seeing her and seeing what she’s achieved is just incredible.” She goes on to say that “people will be picking up rackets without a doubt” after seeing her play.Ranucandu’s astonishing win that broke many barriers in both mens’ and womens’ tennis around the world will change tennis forever. Her unadulterated joy from her playing free, without any baggage from missed opportunities of the past, or the pressure that comes with success and the weight of expectations, was refreshing in the eyes of many tennis fans. Ranucandu’s win seemed unlikely to most but with the trophy in her hands the last day of the U.S. Open 2021, it was a miracle and, as Randucandu stated after her game, “Every single player in the women’s draw has a shot at winning any tournament,” After the Open was over, no one could disagree.