By: Kelvin Omachonu

The name Raducanu will continue to echo for quite some time as the teenager left standing records in tatters as she cruised to her first Grand Slam title. She beat Leylah Fernandez in straight sets to cap an outstanding US open campaign. The win was so exceptional that even though she originally hails from Gibraltar, the news of her success was splattered on the tabloids in the UK, causing Ronaldo’sRonaldo’s second debut for Manchester United to take a back seat in the periphery.

Coming into this year’s US Open, not many would have heard of the Ontario-born Raducanu, ranked 150 in the WTA rankings. However, the likes of Ashley Barty, Elena Svitolina and even Kerber would have ranked way higher in everyone’s list of probable winners for this year’s edition of the US Open. The 18-year-old only just made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon, where a fourth-round defeat made sure that she had to pack her bags. However, she didn’t give up as she put up a fairytale run, reminiscent of Leicester City’City’ Premier league victory in 2015. The win was even more special by how it came- she claimed the title without losing a single set. 

Everyone she beat a player ranked 150th from the first round was in the top 50, except for her round of 64 opponent Stephanie Voegele, who was ranked world 128th. Her feat put her in Britain’sBritain’s history books, as she became the first British player to win a Grand Slam in 44 years. It didn’t go unnoticed as Prime Minister Boris Johnson openly praised her on Twitter, praising her for putting up a ‘‘sensational show’’. Even the Queen of England didn’t miss her achievement as she also commended Raducanu for her hard work and dedication.

She has shown promise for a player who was unknown about a month ago, as her victory raised her to the elite group of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. They won the US open whilst they were teenagers. She would also look to manage her success correctly, so she doesn’t suffer mentally like Naomi Osaka.