Raducanu looks like the real deal but she isn't the first pretty teenage breakout player and it's a bit of a coin flip whether they go on to fulfill their potential or flame out and get lost to modelling, endorsements and showbiz culture.
An example being the gorgeous Anna Kournikova although she was a grand slam doubles winner partnering Martina Hingis.
Raducanu looks like the real deal but she isn't the first pretty teenage breakout player and it's a bit of a coin flip whether they go on to fulfill their potential or flame out and get lost to modelling, endorsements and showbiz culture.
An example being the gorgeous Anna Kournikova although she was a grand slam doubles winner partnering Martina Hingis.
Comes from Bromley according to a bit on the news last night.
Mentioned early in this thread but she went to school at Newstead in Orpington which is right next door to the Bromley Tennis Centre, an LTA centre of excellence, where she has trained for the last dozen or so years. She won the Kent Girls Junior Open Under 8 tournament (what they call red soft ball) there as far back as 2009 when she would have been six at the time.
Her projected world ranking is now up to 51 which makes her British no. 1.
I have no idea what other competition there is out there as the only other female i know of is Konta, but i read that Raducanu was the 10th ranked British woman just 3 months ago. That's some jump!
Mark Petchey, one of Amazon's match commentators was Sakkari's coach for a short while .. let's hope he has passed on some of her perceived strengths and weaknesses to Emma R
Every time I watch Emma play I think "what an amazing achievement to get this far, she should be so proud to have reached the 1st round, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, QF, SF and gone out against such a good player". Except she hasn't
Her projected world ranking is now up to 51 which makes her British no. 1.
I have no idea what other competition there is out there as the only other female i know of is Konta, but i read that Raducanu was the 10th ranked British woman just 3 months ago. That's some jump!
Must admit that, apart from Konta, the only other GB female tennis player I could name is Heather Watson. That's probably down to ignorance on my part on not keeping up with the sport but I suspect it's as much to do with the fact that we probably don't have anyone climbing the rankings. But then I would have said that before Wimbledon and the appearance of Raducanu. Hopefully she will be the inspiration to her peers too.
Raducanu first caught my eye last summer at the "Battle of the Brits" tournament organised as a lockdown team competition to give all the British players an event after lockdown decimated the calendar. Even at 17 she stood out
At just 17-years-old, Emma Raducanu was the youngest player at the event, but you wouldn't have guessed it from the way she performed and how she was able to handle the pressure. After being named in the GB Fed Cup team earlier this year, Raducanu has been highly touted as one of Britain’s top young talents and it was easy to see why.
Throughout the week she won half of her 8 combined singles and doubles matches, including some tough challenges from the likes of Jodie Burrage and a close doubles clash as she faced former world No.1 Andy Murray. Needless to say, British tennis fans are sure to hear a lot more from Raducanu in the years to come.
Comes from Bromley according to a bit on the news last night.
She lives next door to my niece, in a modest house in Bromley Common. Yes it is a cul de sac.
The parents will be the heroes in the background of her success. Despite any LTA funding they will still have had to sacrifice an enormous amount in terms of not just finance but time taking her to tournaments, sitting around while waiting for her to play. As well, of course, the emotional support.
Sakkari is a bit of a (still feminine lol) beast .. a lot older than Emma (26) I thing she is a late developer and, hopefully I am wrong, I am concerned that she will be too powerful for Emma to handle .. maria sakkari - Bing images
She lives with her parents in a cul de sac on BROMLEY Common apparently.
Not for much longer I reckon
Monaco or Florida beckon
Or somewhere in Surrey near the LTA centre, which is a great facility to have available plus the overseas base for winter training, which is what Andy Murray does.
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There's normally 4 or 5 players that battle it out for the major honours over a 10 year period. I think she is in that group
Semi final line-up for tomorrow:
Fernandez v Sabalenka [2]
Auger-Aliassime [12] v Medvedev [2]
https://www.lta.org.uk/major-tennis-events/british-major-events/battle-of-the-brits/news-and-media/2020/norrie-watson-and-raducanu-among-top-performers-at-the-battle-of-the-brits/
Yes it is a cul de sac.