British teenager is youngest player to reach US Open final since Maria Sharapova in 2006; world No 1 Ashleigh Barty won WTA Player of the Year
Tuesday 7 December 2021 17:19, UK
Emma Raducanu has been voted as the WTA Newcomer of the Year after her history-making 2021 season.
The British teenager stunned the world by becoming the first qualifier to win a grand slam at the US Open, which followed reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon - all without having won a match on the regular WTA
Tour.
Raducanu, who has become a global star in the wake of her win in New York, finished the year ranked 19th in the world, capping a meteoric rise from No 343 at the start of 2021.
The WTA Tour said: "Emma Raducanu was voted the WTA Newcomer of the Year after making history in 2021 by becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam at the US Open, where she did not drop a set throughout all 10 of her matches.
"Having made her grand slam main draw debut at Wimbledon this year, she reached the last 16 to become the youngest British woman to reach this stage at the All-England Club.
"Her other notable results this season include reaching the final at the Chicago WTA 125 and the quarter-finals at the Transylvania Open (Cluj-Napoca). The British teenager started the year ranked No 343 and finishes the season at a career-best of World No 19."
The awards keep coming for Raducanu, having been named BT Sport Action Woman of the Year and Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year, and she is expected to add to her collection at this year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday, where she is the overwhelming favourite.
World No 1 and Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty won the WTA Player of the Year.
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