Britain’s teenage phenom Emma Raducanu made history Saturday, becoming the youngest British woman in the Open Era to make the Round of 16 at Wimbledon. Making her debut on No.1 court, the 18-year-old defeated Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 7-5 to book a spot in the fourth round and Monday will face Ajla Tomljanovic.
1. She just broke a 42-year British record
Raducanu became the fourth British teenager to make the Round of 16 at Wimbledon in the Open Era and, at 18 years and 239 days old, the youngest.
Before Raducanu’s Wimbledon debut, the youngest British woman to reach this stage was Deborah Jevans in 1979 (19 years, 48 days). The two other teens to do so were Glynis Coles in 1973 (19 years, 138 days) and Laura Robson in 2013 (19 years, 166 days).
2. She made her WTA main-draw debut in Nottingham … last month
Raducanu is playing just her second tour-level event. She made her debut last month at the Viking Open Nottingham as a wildcard, losing to her compatriot Harriet Dart 6-3, 6-4 in the first round.
The following week, she played the ITF 100K in Nottingham and made the quarterfinals, beating Storm Sanders and Timea Babos in straight sets before losing to Tsvetana Pironkova. That run convinced the AELTC to take a chance and give her a main-draw wildcard at Wimbledon, where she is making her tournament and Slam debut.
“Honestly, I just wanted to make the most out of [the wildcard], try to show that I earned it, try to make the most out of it,” Raducanu said. “I’m really grateful for the All England Club’s support in taking a chance on me.
“The way that I’m approaching my matches is each time I’m thinking to myself, ‘Why not?’ Like today, I was like, ‘Someone has to be in the second week, why not me?’ I think that’s how I’m approaching it. I’m just trying to stay here as long as possible. I’m just having such a blast.”
3. She is coached by Nigel Sears
Raducanu is currently coached by Nigel Sears, who formerly coached Amanda Coetzer, Daniela Hantuchova, Ana Ivanovic and, most recently, Anett Kontaveit. Sears has worked with Raducanu at varying points in her career, starting when she was 15.
“To be able to have someone like him in my corner, it definitely gives me a lot of confidence in these situations to know that he believes in me,” Raducanu said. “I’m really grateful that he’s taken a chance on me.”
The LTA have supported Emma since early in her career, and she is now on their highest-level support program – the Pro Scholarship Programme, which provides support (physio, well-being, medical, financial, and National Tennis Centre access) to the best 16-to-24-year-old players in Britain.
4. She was born in Canada and has Romanian and Chinese roots
Raducanu was born in Toronto, Canada. Her father, Ian, is Romanian. Her mother, Renee, is Chinese. The family moved to London when she was 2. Her parents work in finance.
She still goes back to Romania a couple of times a year to visit her grandmother on her father’s side, in Bucharest.
“On my mum, she’s always instilled a lot of discipline, respect for other people into me,” Raducanu said. “I think having parents like I do, they always push me. They have high expectations. I’ve always tried to live up to that. And I hope I did them proud this week.”
