Qualifiers

After arriving late in New York, following a final run at the WTA 125 Chicago, Raducanu had only a day to prepare for her first qualifying match at Flushing Meadows.

But the young Brit didn’t show any signs of fatigue – she defeated Bibiane Schoofs of the Netherlands 6-1, 6-2, before moving on to play Mariam Bolkvadze in the second round. The Georgian proved a tough challenge and won more games against Raducanu than anyone else in the tournament, but couldn’t deny her a 6-3, 7-5 win.

Playing for a spot in the main draw, Raducanu faced the fourth seed in qualifiers – Mayar Sherif. This would be the first sign of what was yet to come, as the 18-year-old overcame the pressure to see off the World No.71, 6-1, 6-4.

An excellent result in itself, Raducanu had qualified for her US Open main draw on debut – but that was only the beginning.

First round – vs Stefanie Voegele (121) – 6-2, 6-3

Originally, Raducanu was supposed to face 13th seed Jennifer Brady in the opening round, but after the American pulled out of the tournament with injury, lucky loser Stefanie Voegele stepped in to take on the Brit.

Raducanu and Voegele headed out to Court 17 for the future champion’s first main draw match at Flushing Meadows.

The World No.121 went a break up in both sets, but Raducanu showed expert composure to settle herself and pull her way back into the match.

A running theme throughout the fortnight was Raducanu’s incredible return game, which was on full display from day one. She won 57% of points faced on return as she cruised to a maiden victory in New York.

Second round – vs Zhang Shuai (49) – 6-2, 6-4

In the next round, Raducanu faced her first top-50 opponent of the tournament in China’s Zhang Shuai. A finalist at the LTA’s Viking Open Nottingham in June and having won their previous meeting in San Jose – on paper this looked set to be a tough match up for the Brit.

But Raducanu rose to the challenge. From the first ball she was firing on all cylinders, breaking to love in the opening game and putting on serving masterclass to carry her to a second victory. She suffered a minor dip at 4-0 up in the second set as Zhang brought it back to 4-3 but again, collected herself and finished the job in style.

Speaking after the win, she said: “That match meant so much to me on a personal level. I wanted to win so, so bad.

“I think I’ve come a long way with my game since we last played. I knew she was an extremely experienced player and that experience showed last time.”

Third round – vs Sara Sorribes Tormo (41) – 6-0, 6-1

Next up for Raducanu was Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo – one of the most in-form players on the WTA Tour so far this season, having already claimed a straight sets win over World No.1 Ashleigh Barty at the Olympics in August.

This would be arguably the 18-year-old’s most impressive win in her title run, losing only one game in a near flawless display.

Known for her battle hardened playing style and being a difficult opponent to break down; Sorribes Tormo simply couldn’t handle the level of pressure coming from the groundstrokes of Raducanu.

The Brit hit the ball with such power and consistency across all areas of the court and showed no signs of slowing down. It only took her an hour and 12 minutes to equal her performance at Wimbledon earlier in the summer.

Now people were starting to pay attention to this teenager from Bromley making waves on the biggest stage – could she even be a contender?

Fourth round – vs Shelby Rogers (46) – 6-2, 6-1

Awaiting Raducanu in the fourth round was American star Shelby Rogers, who in the previous round pulled off one of the upsets of the tournament, defeating top seed Barty in an epic third set tie-break.

A shaky start put Raducanu 2-0 down, but the Brit only needed a couple of games to get the feel for her opponent before she once again displayed her full arsenal of weapons.

Playing on the Arthur Ashe stadium for the first time and with Billie Jean King and the Virginia Wade watching from the stands, she hammered winners left, right and centre. Rogers couldn’t stay with Raducanu and her level dropped, hitting 29 unforced errors in the match.

Raducanu clinched the win to become the youngest British quarter-finalist at the US Open in 62 years.

By this point she had only dropped 15 games the tournament – the least of any player left in the draw and the fewest of any player at this stage of the women's singles draw since Serena Williams (13) in 2013.

She became only the third qualifier to reach the quarter-final at the US Open in the Open Era – not bad going for your debut at Flushing Meadows!

Quarter-final – vs Belinda Bencic (12) – 6-3, 6-4

Looking to become the first qualifier to reach a Grand Slam semi-final in the Open Era, Raducanu would have to defeat her first top-20 opponent and 2020 Tokyo Olympic gold medallist – Belinda Bencic.

Bencic came into the match having won 13 of her last 14 matches and having reached the last four in her last appearance at the US Open in 2019. One of the top servers on the Tour against the best returner in the tournament so far – this one was going to have fireworks.

On the big occasion, Bencic’s experience told in the first couple of games, racing to a quick break, but as with her previous match against Rogers, Raducanu soon found her feet.

As the match progressed, Raducanu quickly adjusted to the power and pace behind Bencic’s groundstrokes and gradually the momentum started to shift in her favour.

Bencic had to do everything she could just to stay within striking distance on the Brit, but serving for the set, Raducanu showed a champion’s mentality. She lost the first two points but fought back to clinch the biggest win of her career.

Semi-final – vs Maria Sakkari (18) – 6-1, 6-4

With one match between her and the final, Raducanu stepped out onto Arthur Ashe for the third time in a week to take on the 17th seed – Maria Sakkari.

A semi-finalist at the French Open already this year – Sakkari claimed impressive victories over Petra Kvitova, former champion Bianca Andreescu and World No.4 Karolina Pliskova en route to the final four.

Under the lights, Raducanu once again stepped up to mark – the opening few games were long hard battles, but the Brit showed mental strength beyond her years to save three break points and take the early lead.

Unforced errors were defining in the final result – Sakkari racking up 33 in the match, almost double that of Raducanu (17).

After clinching the decisive break in the second set, Raducanu saw out the win with some devastating serving to become the youngest British Grand Slam finalist since 1959.

"The time in New York has gone so quickly, I've been taking care of each day and three weeks later I'm in the final – I actually can't believe it” she said in the post-match interview.

“Is there any expectation? I’m a qualifier so technically, on paper, there’s nothing. No pressure on me.”

Final – vs Leylah Fernandez (73) – 6-4, 6-3

It all came down to this – an 18-year-old British qualifier from Kent, playing on the world’s biggest stage, for a shot at a Grand Slam title.

Her final opponent would be Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, who was having a dream journey of her own.

In the third round, she knocked out the two-time and reigning champion Naomi Osaka in three sets, before going on to beat World No.4 Elina Svitolina in the quarter-final and second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semis.

In the first Grand Slam final between teenagers since Serena Williams and Martina Hingis at the US Open in 1999 – it was a solid start for Raducanu, as she held serve with a bullet of a backhand winner across court and then broke Fernandez in the second game.

With the nation on the edge of their seats, Raducanu held her nerve to serve out the set and move one step closer to lifting the title.

The second set ensued with tennis of the highest standard from two of the games brightest young talents. Fernandez took the early advantage, breaking Raducanu for the first time, celebrating with a fist pump and roar to the crowd.

The response from Raducanu was instant. She wasted no time in breaking back for 2-2 and before she knew it the Canadian found herself 5-2 down after some ferocious hitting from the Raducanu.

She missed out on two Championship points facing the 19-year-olds serve, but in the biggest moment of her life produced a world class service game to become the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title.

The victory etched her name into the history books as Great Britain’s first women’s singles Grand Slam champion for 44 years.

"It shows the future of women's tennis and depth of the game is so great, every player in the draw has a shot at winning any tournament,” she said. “I hope the next generation can follow in the steps of some of the legends, for example Billie Jean...”

“As for the three weeks I have spent in New York, I would say that having such a supportive team like I have (over there) - my coach, Will, the LTA, my agent everyone in that team and everyone back home… everyone back home who isn’t here but watching on TV, thank you so much for all your support over the years.”

And there it was – the world stopped to watch as Raducanu lifted the trophy above her head – a journey 18 years in the making, and only just getting started.

Emma Raducanu is the US Open women’s singles champion.