The famous British tennis player Raducanu is about to become famous in a game at the end of the US

Game updates

Sign up for myFT Daily Digest to be the first to know about Sport news.

Emma Raducanu, a young British tennis player, did not expect to play in the US Open this year.

The 18-year-old had booked a flight from New York at the end of a qualifier two weeks ago, thinking he would not make it to the big tournament. Her travel plans were dramatically changed by a run that was unparalleled in the women’s finals last Saturday.

“The time here in New York has passed quickly,” Raducanu told the court after the final victory against Maria Sakkari, the 17th seed from Greece, unsettled Thursday evening. “I’ve been taking care of you every day and before you know it, after three weeks, I’m the last one and I can’t believe it.”

No player, male or female, has ever qualified for the finals, four annual tournaments considered to be the most important tennis tournament. Ranked 150th in the world before the game, she could be Britain’s first woman to win a major competition since Virginia Wade won at Wimbledon in 1977.

But between him and the trophy is Leylah Fernandez of Canada, another youth package who is hoping to win its first win. Prior to the race, Fernandez, who had the biggest final challenge, was at 73 in the world.

From all his questions after the game Raducanu, who has not lost a part in the US Open, seems to be doing so. just fun he continued to live. But sports industry executives said his performances should change him to become one of Britain’s best-known players.

Continuing her career makes her a world-class star, along with top tennis stars such as Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, who are among the highest paid female athletes in all sports.

“All the ingredients are there for him to become a British athlete in his time,” said Tim Crow, an independent sports commentator.

Raducanu’s shooting for the glory of the game, as well as his matching fortune, already represents a dramatic rise. Born in Canada to a Romanian father and a Chinese mother, she arrived in the UK at the age of 2 after her parents moved to Bromley, southeast of London.

Earlier this year he completed his A-Levels before playing at Wimbledon, which he met on his own in this major competition. There she became the youngest British woman to reach the last 16 years before being forced to retire from the sport due to difficult breathing.

Raducanu is a tool for the talent development program of the Lawn Tennis Association founded in 2018, aimed at 16- to 24-year-olds. The UK education system that regulates sports in the UK is designed to create players who can compete for top sporting prizes.

This is in stark contrast to Andy Murray, the world’s first player, a British player to win the US Open, who left his home country of Scotland at the age of 15 to coach privately in Spain.

Iain Bates, chief of women’s tennis at LTA, said that although Raducanu had climbed faster, it was too early to announce that the new training had been successful.

“We had six girls playing with them here, five of them in our professional program,” she said in New York. “My job has to be done to turn a group of five people, of whom Emma was one, into the top 100 [ranked players in the world]. That’s when I thought we were starting to show signs of progress. ”

But Bates added that Raducanu has given encouragement to his peers: It shows what can be done and empowers them and trusts others to continue to work hard to achieve excellence. “

In Fernandez, he encounters a strange finisher. The Canadian, who turned 19 on Monday, defeated defensively Osaka in the third round and defeated Angelique Kerber who was first in the world and Aryna Sabalenka second in the US Open.

Raducanu has decided to add more than $ 300,000 to the reward he has received for his short career so far. The winner of the US Open has taken $ 2.5m home, and the runner-up for $ 1.25m.

Raducanu’s only sponsors are the Nike sports team and racket makers Wilson. Some have decided to seek out the best hope for the sport.

“By rebuilding the existing agreements, Raducanu can expect to make more than $ 1m. . . while other brands are no doubt looking to Raducanu as the brand’s ambassador, “says Conrad Wiacek, sports analyst at GlobalData, the research team.”[She] maybe being the face of British tennis in the future. ”

While some are thinking about how to make money to win, Raducanu himself complained about how he got to court for a short time.

“Obviously I want to play more, but I don’t know how soon it will happen,” he said after winning the semifinals. “To get the final part of the game, I have no words.”

Additional reports of Murad Ahmed in London and Sara Germano in New York