Emma Raducanu

About Emma Raducanu

She reached a career-high ranking of No. 10 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) on 11 July 2022, and is a former British No. 1. Raducanu is the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Virginia Wade at the 1977 Wimbledon Championships.

Raducanu was born in Toronto and raised in London. She made her WTA Tour debut in June 2021. With a wildcard entry at Wimbledon, ranked outside the top 300, she reached the fourth round in her first major tournament. At the 2021 US Open, Raducanu became the first qualifier in the Open Era to win a major singles title, beating Leylah Fernandez in the final without dropping a set during the tournament. It was the second major tournament of her career, and she holds the Open Era record for the fewest majors played before winning a title.She reached a career-high ranking of No. 10 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) on 11 July 2022, and is a former British No. 1. Raducanu is the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Virginia Wade at the 1977 Wimbledon Championships.

Personal Life&Education

Emma Raducanu (/ˌræduˈkɑːnuː/ RAD-oo-KAH-noo was born on 13 November 2002, in Toronto, Canada,and was raised in Bromley, England.Her father, Ion Răducanu (pronounced [rədu'kanu]),is from Bucharest, Romania and her mother, Renee Zhai (Dongmei), is from Shenyang, China.She has said that her parents "both came from very academic families... [in] communist countries so education was kind of their only option".Both of her parents work in the finance sector.

Raducanu was born in Toronto and raised in London. She made her WTA Tour debut in June 2021. With a wildcard entry at Wimbledon, ranked outside the top 300, she reached the fourth round in her first major tournament. At the 2021 US Open, Raducanu became the first qualifier in the Open Era to win a major singles title, beating Leylah Fernandez in the final without dropping a set during the tournament. It was the second major tournament of her career, and she holds the Open Era record for the fewest majors played before winning a title.

Her family moved to England when she was two years old,and she holds both British and Canadian citizenship.She is fluent in Mandarin and almost fluent in Romanian;her grandmothers live in Bucharest and Northeast China.Raducanu started playing tennis at the age of five,while also participating in various other sports and activities as a child, such as basketball, golf, karting, motocross, skiing, horse riding, and ballet.Raducanu is a fan of Formula One and the football club Tottenham Hotspur.

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.Raducanu has stated she would like to become as athletic as Simona Halep, and aspires to the mentality and sporting ethics of Li Na.

On 28 January 2022, a man named Amrit Magar was found guilty of stalking Raducanu at her home. Raducanu said that the incidents made her feel unsafe in her house and concerned to go out alone.On 23 February 2022, the offender was sentenced to a community order, and was also given a five-year restraining order imposing conditions.

Playing Style

Raducanu is primarily a baseline player, with an aggressive style of play. She hits the ball early, and is adept at redirecting power down the line.Her best groundstroke is her two-handed backhand, which was described as "world-class" by former British No. 1 Anne Keothavong. Raducanu can hit her backhand one-handed with slice, to break up the pace of rallies and disrupt her opponent's rhythm, but she does not use this shot often.

Raducanu has a strong forehand, although it is more volatile than her backhand. Her serve is strong, peaking at 110 mph (180 km/h), and she has a consistent ball toss, and accurate serve positioning. Raducanu's most effective serve is a wide, sliced serve, which she used during the 2021 US Open.Raducanu's second serve is typically delivered at a higher speed than the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) average, at 93 mph (150 km/h), allowing her to play offensively even after missing a first serve.She is known for her return of serve. She keeps opponents deep in the court by taking the ball early, and hitting hard down the line, whilst attacking short second serves by going for return winners.

Her movement, court coverage, footwork, speed, and anticipation allow her to rally and defend effectively against opponents.She blends good point construction with tactical flexibility, making it difficult for opponents to read her game.Despite typically playing from the baseline, Raducanu is a capable net player, and she possesses an effective drop shot. Raducanu is comfortable on all surfaces, although she has stated that she prefers hard courts, where she won her maiden major title.

Endorsements

Raducanu is sponsored by Nike for clothing and shoes, and by Wilson for racquets, currently endorsing the Wilson Blade range of racquets; despite this, she uses the Wilson Steam 100 on court, painted as a Wilson Blade.

Raducanu's popularity and marketability increased considerably after her US Open victory, with sports analysts noting her potential to appeal to multiple markets.Her net worth was estimated to be £12 million in a June 2022 article.Raducanu signed with sports agency IMG while on the junior circuit and has been represented by executive Max Eisenbud.She was ranked the 12th most marketable athlete in the world in 2022 by SportsPro.

In September 2021, Raducanu became an ambassador for jewellery brand Tiffany & Co. and Dior in October 2021.In December 2021, she signed with British Airways and French bottled water brand Evian.She also starred alongside other British sportspeople and celebrities in a Christmas advertisement for sporting goods retailer Sports Direct in November 2021.

Raducanu became an ambassador for British telecommunications firm Vodafone and German automobile manufacturer Porsche in March 2022.In June 2022, Raducanu signed a four-year deal with British multinational bank HSBC.In the run-up to the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, Raducanu starred in a number of marketing campaigns for Vodafone and Evian, who are also sponsors of Wimbledon.

Raducanu added to her portfolio in June 2023 with American digital media platform AirWayz, where she offers online tennis coaching for $2000 per session.According to AirWayz, the proceeds are directed towards the LTA's Youth Coaching Programme.

Awards&Honours

In November 2021, Raducanu was named Sportswoman of the Year by the Sunday Times.The Guardian ranked the 2021 US Open final number 47 on their 50 best TV shows of 2021 list.Raducanu won Sportswoman of the Year and the Peter Wilson Trophy for international newcomer in December 2021, awarded by the Sports Journalists' Association.She was voted the 2021 WTA Newcomer of the Year by the WTA.On 19 December 2021, Raducanu was named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, becoming the first female tennis player to win the trophy since Virginia Wade in 1977.She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for her contribution to tennis.

In March 2022, Raducanu was named Sports Star of the Year at the Stylist's Remarkable Women Awards 2022.In April 2022, Raducanu won the Laureus World Sports Award for Breakthrough of the Year award.She won the Best Athlete, Women's Tennis award at the 2022 ESPY Awards.

Trivia

She was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2022 Queen's New Years Honours List for her services to tennis. She is a tennis player in London, Greater London, England.
Raducanu is the first ever qualifier to win the US Open championship title.
Her greatest tennis idols are Simona Halep (Romania) and Li Na (China).
(Sept. 11, 2021) The US Open trophy was presented to her by Billie Jean King, herself a 4-time winner of the tournament (1967, 1971, 1972, 1974). Her prize money came to $2.5 million.
She began playing tennis at the Bromley Tennis Academy and attended Bickley Primary School in Bromley, London.
Her father is Romanian and her mother is Chinese.
Born in Toronto, Canada to a Romanian Father and a Chinese Mother. Her parents moved to Britain when she was 2 years old.
Won her first grand slam on 11 September 2021 aged 18 at the US open. She is the first British woman to win a singles Grand Slam in tennis since Virginia Wade in 1977.
Raducanu is the youngest US Open champion since 17-year-old Serena Williams defeated 18-year-old Martina Hingis for the US Open crown in 1999.
Started playing tennis when she was 5 years old.