Emma Raducanus Tennis Journey To Greatness
Emma Raducanus Tennis Journey To Greatness
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00:00 England has contributed a lot when it comes to tennis.
00:04 But if we look at the last few years, the nation hasn't been able to come up with any
00:08 big name.
00:10 Until Emma Raducanu stepped into the glittering lights of tennis.
00:14 The 19-year-old British star won the US Open, beating Canadian prodigy Leila Fernandez in
00:21 the finals.
00:22 Welcome to the Rich Rabbit, and today we'll be talking about the British tennis sensation
00:28 Emma Raducanu.
00:30 But first things first, if you haven't yet subscribed to our channel, what are you waiting
00:34 for?
00:35 Please consider subscribing and don't forget to click the bell icon.
00:39 At the start of 2021, few outside British tennis circles had heard of Raducanu.
00:45 At the end of the year, however, the 19-year-old is a national superstar and known around the
00:51 globe.
00:52 Winning the US Open title as an 18-year-old qualifier was a staggering achievement, one
00:58 that had never been done before at any of tennis's four majors.
01:04 Three months on, the triumph that transformed the teenager from a 499-to-1 pre-tournament
01:10 outsider to the BBC Sports Personality of the Year has been revisited in the BBC Radio
01:16 5 Live documentary.
01:19 Raducanu created history in 2021 when she won the US Open title in just her second Grand
01:26 Slam appearance.
01:28 Making her debut at Flushing Meadows, she defeated Leila Fernandez in the final in straight
01:33 sets.
01:34 At the tender age of 18, Raducanu achieved a feat that no other female player had achieved
01:40 since Virginia Wade in 1977.
01:43 Naturally, with her win at Flushing Meadows, the 18-year-old was propelled to superstardom.
01:50 The Grand Slam win saw her net worth and brand endorsement surge, with many elite brands
01:56 jumping on her success bandwagon.
02:00 Raducanu's ethnicity is a symbol of globalization.
02:03 Her father, Ian Raducanu, hails from Bucharest, Romania.
02:08 Her mother, Renée, hails from Shenyang in China.
02:12 Raducanu was born in Toronto on November 13, 2002.
02:17 At just the age of two, she moved to Britain.
02:21 Raducanu has both British and Canadian citizenship.
02:24 She started playing tennis at the age of five.
02:27 She attended Newstead Wood School in Orpington, London.
02:32 Apart from tennis, Raducanu had a great interest in basketball, golf, karting, horse riding,
02:38 ballet and skiing.
02:41 But Raducanu's tennis journey has a very special India connection.
02:45 Her first two titles in the sport came in India.
02:49 In 2018, Raducanu won the ITF long tennis tournament in Chandigarh.
02:55 She also participated in the ITF grade 3 and grade 2 junior tournaments that were held
03:01 in Chandigarh and New Delhi in the same year.
03:04 Her journey in India continued to give her success.
03:08 Raducanu participated in the Maharashtra Open, in which she secured a win at Pune.
03:14 In 2021, Raducanu broke into the main WTA draw as she participated in the Nottingham
03:20 Open.
03:22 When she played in Wimbledon, she reached the fourth round at the age of 18, becoming
03:27 the youngest to achieve the feat.
03:30 But glory came to her in the US Open when she won the tournament without dropping a
03:35 single set.
03:37 She had matched Serena Williams, the GOAT of women's tennis, with this feat.
03:43 A couple of months before the US Open, Raducanu was launched into the conscience of the British
03:49 public with a scintillating run at Wimbledon.
03:54 Having been given a wild card to her home Grand Slam, she reached the last 16.
04:00 But breathing problems forced her to retire against Ayla Tomlianovic in what was then
04:06 the biggest match of her career.
04:09 Wimbledon was her second professional tournament.
04:13 And to reach the US Open main draw in only her fourth, she would have to win three qualifying
04:19 matches in New York.
04:21 Like most fairy tales, Raducanu's story includes a twist of fate that altered the course of
04:26 her journey.
04:29 American 13th seed Jennifer Brady, who reached the Australian Open final earlier in the year,
04:35 was supposed to be the Britain's first-round opponent.
04:39 But she withdrew because of a knee injury, so Raducanu faced 128th-ranked Stephanie Fogler
04:45 instead.
04:46 Raducanu was a breakdown in each set against the experienced Swiss, but she won 6-2, 6-3
04:54 with her seventh match point after a slight wobble.
04:58 Next up was China's Xue Zhang.
05:05 Raducanu delivered another impressive display that belied her youth and inexperience, sweeping
05:16 Zhang aside with a confident and aggressive performance.
05:20 The buzz around Raducanu had started to build.
05:24 She had been a popular attraction in the first week.
05:28 Fans now packed around the smaller outdoor courts to catch a glimpse of her playing,
05:34 then waited around for selfies and autographs.
05:37 With a beaming smile, Raducanu fulfilled every request, and her enjoyment on and off court
05:44 was clear for all to see.
05:46 There was, however, a steely determination for the experience to continue.
05:52 The next obstacle was facing the last remaining American woman in the draw in Arthur Ashe
05:58 Stadium, and Raducanu recovered from a slow start to see off Shelby Rogers.
06:04 In the quarterfinals, Raducanu met Swiss 11th seed Belinda Bencic.
06:10 The Swiss was fresh from winning the Olympic title and a considerable step up in pedigree
06:15 from her previous opponents.
06:18 Raducanu again oozed composed execution and clarity of thought in another straight-set
06:24 victory.
06:25 The following day, she did the same against Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari.
06:32 Not only did Raducanu have no day off between the matches, she also dealt with a new experience
06:38 in playing under the lights on Ashe.
06:41 Almost three weeks after she had arrived in New York, Raducanu was preparing to play in
06:46 the final against another teenager, Canada's Leila Fernandez.
06:52 As she had done all tournament, Raducanu trusted her game in the showdown.
06:57 Even when two championship points were missed, she maintained her belief in composure to
07:02 seal a stunning triumph nobody had predicted.
07:07 That's what dreams are capable of.
07:09 Raducanu's net worth is close to $6 million.
07:13 Her US Open triumph propelled her into the elite list of athletes who have a net worth
07:20 in the high millions.
07:24 Raducanu won over $2 million when she clinched the title in Flushing Meadows.
07:30 Emma Raducanu's US Open triumph opened the doors for elite brands to come forward and
07:35 sponsor her.
07:37 This has also seen her net worth increase.
07:41 Here is the list of brands that she has endorsed.
07:44 Dior, Wilson, Tiffany & Co., Nike, Louis Vuitton and others.
07:50 Nike provides her clothing and shoes for the tournaments.
07:53 At the US Open, she wore Nike's full collection and wore shoes that were branded NXT Vapor.
08:02 The deal is worth $132,000 on a yearly basis.
08:07 Her deal with Tiffany is worth $2.6 million, with a British star wearing the jewelry brand
08:13 throughout the US Open.
08:16 Wilson is the racket brand that sponsored her, with a youngster using a Wilson Blade
08:21 racket.
08:22 When she attends award functions, she wears Dior.
08:27 Raducanu has almost pocketed close to $3 million in her short career.
08:33 It goes without saying really that 2021 was a watershed year in which she won the US Open
08:40 and reached the fourth round of Wimbledon.
08:43 The US Open win was enough to give Raducanu prize money worth $2.8 million.
08:50 Since she has actively played in only one season at the top level, this is undoubtedly
08:55 the beginning of something special.
08:58 Now moving on to her personal life, there is plenty of speculation on Raducanu's boyfriend.
09:04 When she won the US Open, she was seen celebrating the moment with a male companion.
09:09 A photo was uploaded on social media and this led to speculation that Emma Raducanu had
09:15 a boyfriend.
09:16 But it later emerged that the photo which was uploaded was Raducanu with her friend.
09:21 The friend's name is Benjamin Hennald.
09:25 Raducanu has known Hennald ever since she was six years of age.
09:29 They played together in the junior circuit for a number of years.
09:33 Raducanu has not had a full-time coach for a long time.
09:37 When she won the US Open, she was coached by Andrew Richardson.
09:42 Before that she was coached by Nigel Sears, the father-in-law of former champion Andy
09:47 Murray.
09:49 And with that, it's time for us to say goodbye to this fairy tale which has just begun.
09:54 We sure hope that you liked our video and found it informative.
09:58 And if you did, then well you know the rest.
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10:10 And I'll see you in the next video.
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