Tennis news - Emma Raducanu: Great Britain star becomes world number 23 after US Open triumph
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ByEurosport
Updated 13/09/2021 at 15:10 GMT
Emma Raducanu has rised dramatically up the WTA rankings after coming through qualifying to become Britain's first women's singles major title winner for 44 years at the 2021 US Open. The teenager has won 21 of her past 25 matches and has become Britain's number one player, overtaking Johanna Konta and Heather Watson.
'She looked so comfortable in the biggest moments' - Wilander in awe of Raducanu
Emma Raducanu has become Britain's number one after surging up from No. 150 in the world to 23 in the latest WTA rankings.
Raducanu, who began the year at No. 345 in the world (the 11th best British woman), surprisingly reached the fourth round of Wimbledon as a wildcard before pulling out due to dizziness and breathing difficulties.
The 18-year-old battled through qualifying for the US Open before going on to stun the tennis world by winning the Grand Slam after overcoming 19-year-old Leylah Annie Fernandez in straight sets. Runner-up Fernandez has climbed up from No.73 to No.28.
Raducanu became the first British Grand Slam champion since 1977 and her remarkable achievement has seen her overtake Johanna Konta as the highest-ranked woman from Britain.
Konta had been the British number one for 310 consecutive weeks.
Raducanu has credited her parents for giving her the "mental strength" to succeed in tennis.
"I think that from a young age I've always sort of been brought up to have mental strength," she told ABC's breakfast show Gold Morning America on Monday.
"My parents, you know, they played a huge part of my upbringing.
"They were pretty tough on me when I was young but it kind of shaped the way and I think now it's helping on the biggest stages in the world and Arthur Ashe Stadium when you really need it and it was basically a full capacity - so it was very, very cool.
"It was really nice to talk to them after I won. They were just so happy and proud of me and my toughest critics and very, very hard to please but, yeah, I got them with this one. They couldn't resist."
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