Qualifier, 18, to play in U.S. Open semifinals
NEW YORK — Emma Raducanu came to Flushing Meadows for her second Grand Slam tournament ranked so low that she needed to go through qualifying rounds just to get into the main draw. She’s 18, so new to all of this, and yet no one has figured out a way to stop her.
Not even take a set off her. Showing off the shots and poise of someone much more experienced, the 150th-ranked Raducanu became the first qualifier to get to the U.S. Open semifinals in the professional era — and, remarkably, the second teen in two days to secure a spot in the final four — by eliminating Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday.
“To have so many young players here doing so well — it just shows how strong the next generation is,” said Britain’s
Raducanu, who joins Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, 19, in the semifinals. “Everyone’s on their trajectory . ... It’s my own journey at the end of the day.”
And what a ride she is on. Raducanu won all 16 sets she has contested through eight matches — three during the qualifying rounds and another five in the main draw.
She next will face No. 4 seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, a twotime major runner-up, or No. 17 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece, a semifinalist at this year’s French Open, today for a spot in the final.
The other women’s semifinal will be the 73rd-ranked Fernandez against No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka.
In Wednesday’s men’s quarterfinals, Novak Djokovic was scheduled to try to extend his bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam by facing Matteo Berrettini at night in a rematch of the Wimbledon final, while Olympic champion Alexander Zverev met Lloyd Harris.
Raducanu was ranked outside of the top 300 in late June when she got a chance to play at Wimbledon thanks to a wild-card invitation.
In that Grand Slam debut, she reached the fourth round before stopping during that match when she had trouble breathing.
That tournament allowed the world to begin to get familiar with her style of crisp, clean tennis, managing to attack early in points from the baseline without sacrificing accuracy. By the end against the 11th-seeded Bencic, a U.S. Open semifinalist in 2019, Raducanu had nearly twice as many winners as unforced errors, 23-12.
She also showed gumption, particularly at the end, when she fell behind love30 in each of her last two service games before pulling through.