NY ♥ EMMA
CAUSING A RACKET... RADUCANU STORMS U.S. AS SHE CREDITS TENNIS FOR GIVING HER INNER STRENGTH
BRITISH teen tennis star Emma Raducanu has dressed to impress her adoring new fans at Flushing Meadows, as she takes the US Open by storm.
The 18-year-old, of Bromley, south-east London, said she was always the last girl standing as a kid. And these days her achievements are more impressive.
She already raided the top 100 after beating Shelby Rogers on her debut – storming into tonight’s quarter-final against Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic and gaining a legion of fans across the pond.
Win or lose, she will leave New York with more than £300,000 in prize money. And Emma, who showed off her fashion game in a black tulle frock, revealed she always tried to stand out.
‘When I was younger, I was the only girl in my group karting or doing motocross,’ she told Vogue. ‘One time, my teacher was like, “right, we’re going to do press-ups”. I was the only one who could do it, so I was proud of myself.’
After her Wimbledon debut in July, this week she became the first woman since Jennifer Capriati to reach round four of her first two grand slams – and gave some of the credit to her mum. ‘I think the confidence comes from just inner belief,’ Emma said. ‘My mum comes from a Chinese background. They have very good self-belief. I really respect that.’ On a winning streak now, she also has superstar mates helping her through the losses. Emma suffered a panic attack at SW19, and football star Marcus Rashford helped her deal with the criticism.
‘I was feeling like I let people down, so for him to reassure me like that – I was extremely grateful,’ she said.
The athlete added tennis is the gift that keeps on giving, explaining: ‘I was a very shy little girl. And through playing sport, and having to be bold on the court and fearless and fight, it’s given me inner strength. If you have that, then you can really achieve whatever you want.’ See the full feature in the October issue of British Vogue, available via digital download and on newsstands on Friday.