Emma Raducanu of Bromley, England has won the 2021 US Open. On Saturday, Raducanu defeated Leylah Annie Fernandez of Canada 6-4, 6-3 in the women’s singles final.
Raducanu won 72% of her first serve points, compared to only 58% for Fernandez. Raducanu also was the better server, as she had three aces and one double fault, compared to two aces and five double faults for Fernandez.
Fernandez was able to break Raducanu’s serve in each set. However, the Canadian was broken twice herself.
What made this women’s final so magical is the fact that neither Fernandez or Raducanu were expected to be playing on Saturday. Fernandez was ranked 73rd in the world, and Raducanu was ranked 150th. Both are teenagers born in Canada as Fernandez is 19 years old, and from Montreal, Quebec, and Raducanu is 18 years old, and from Toronto, Ontario.
Raducanu made history before the women’s final on Saturday even started. She was the first qualifier to ever reach a grand slam final–on either the men’s side or women’s side. It was a perfect three weeks for Raducanu when it came to her play. She did not lose a set through all of qualifying or during her seven matches in the main draw.
In another interesting statistic, this was the second straight year that a women’s tennis player won a grand slam title in the first time she participated in the major she was victorious in. Last year, Iga Swiatek of Poland won the 2020 French Open the first time she was a participant at Roland Garros.
Raducanu also became only the second English tennis player ever to win the women’s singles tournament at the U.S. Open. In 1968, Virginia Wade defeated American Billie Jean King 6-4, 6-2.
