Canadian-born, British-bred.
Emma Raducanu was born on November 13, 2002, in Toronto, Canada, to her Romanian father, Ian, and her Chinese mother, Renee. Her family moved to the UK when Emma was two years old, more specifically to Bromley in south-east London.
Young prospect.
Raducanu’s rise was inevitable given her performances at youth level. Starting aged five at Bromley Tennis Centre, she was picked to represent Great Britain by age 11 before winning her first junior IFT title at 13. She would win another six titles in a junior career that saw her reach British number one and peak at No 20 in the junior ITF rankings. Her best performance at the junior Grand Slams was reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2018.
It all started at Wimbledon.
Raducanu’s break on the professional stage came at the sport’s most revered arena, Wimbledon, in 2021. Entering as a wildcard, the 18-year-old Brit became one of the tournaments biggest storylines as she reached the fourth round, having never played in the main draw of a Grand Slam before. She came in ranked 338th in the world but scored impressive wins over Vitalia Diatchenko, Marketa Vondrousova and Sorana Cîrstea to become the youngest Brit to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon in the Open era. She met Ajla Tomljanovic for a spot in the quarter-finals, but had to retire mid-match.
History at Flushing Meadows.
Wimbledon, however, was just the start for Raducanu, later that year completing the barely believable achievement of lifting the 2021 US Open title. That alone was triumph enough, but she did it the hard way by advancing through qualifying, becoming the first ever qualifier, male or female, in the history of the sport to win a Grand Slam title – in fact, she was the first to reach a final, let alone win one. Her run of ten match wins including victories over American Shelby Rogers, Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic, the 11th seed, and 17th seed Maria Sakkari, to win the Championship match against Leylah Fernandez without dropping a set. It was a historic victory, making her the youngest Grand Slam winner since Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon aged 17 in 2004.
Aggressive style of play.
Raducanu is a baseline player, known for her flat powerful groundstrokes, and uses a two-fisted backhand that is perhaps the jewel in the crown of her game – although, her return ability is also highly respected. Her forehand has given her trouble at times, as has her variety. She admits herself that she is not the best retriever on tour, with little tennis played in the forecourt and backhand slices and drop shots a rarity in her play.
Post-US struggles.
After the heights of her 2021 US Open win, Raducanu has struggled to adapt to the conditions of a full-time life on the tour – since the start of 2022, she has just six major wins under her belt, and hasn’t made it beyond the second round since her victory at Flushing Meadows. 
Blighted by injury.
Much of that lack of success has been down to injury, particularly last year. In May 2023, Raducanu announced that she would undergo surgeries on both her hands as well as an ankle surgery. Each were minor procedures but kept her out of action for the rest of the year, returning in January 2024 via a wildcard at the Aukland ASB Classic. She later appeared at the 2024 Australian Open, reaching the second round, and made the third round at Indian Wells before losing to Aryna Sabalenka.
Best ranking?
As of June 2024, Emma Raducanu’s career-high ranking is world No 10. She is the former British No 1, having reached the summit after her stunning US Open triumph, but following her eight-month injury lay-off, Raducanu’s ranking fell to 303rd in the world. As of July 2023, her ranking is No 135.
Positive signs ahead.
After injury spells, coaching changes and a series of unmet expectations, Raducanu chose to miss this year’s French Open to prepare for the grass season, a choice that has so far paid off. She was a semi-finalist in Nottingham a few weeks ago and picked up her first ever win over a top 10 player when she beat Jessica Pegula, ranked No 5, in the second round of the WTA event in Eastbourne last month; despite her US Open win, Raducanu had previously not won a set in any of her seven battles with top 10 players. At Wimbledon 2024, she opened her tournament with a first-round win against Mexican Renata Zarasuza, and will face Elise Mertens in the second round on Wednesday.
