Emma Raducanu lands yet another prize after her stunning breakthrough season

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Emma Raducanu has been given the WTA award for Newcomer of the Year. It comes after the 19-year-old won a BT Sport award and two SJA British Sports Awards. The Bromley local became the first-ever qualifier to win a Grand Slam title when she claimed victory at the US Open back in September.

Raducanu completed something unprecedented in tennis when she arrived in New York in August, ranked at a then-career high of world No 150, to enter the qualifying event.

After winning through her three qualifying rounds without dropping a set, the young Brit stormed through the main draw, winning seven matches on the bounce and fourteen sets in a row to end the fortnight as the winner of the US Open.

Not only was she the first qualifier in history to win a Major, she was also the first woman to win the title on just her second appearance at Grand Slam level.

The historic victory saw Raducanu climb into the world’s top 25, and she ended the season at a career-high of world No 19.

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The 19-year-old has since been showered with accolades for her historic achievement, and her latest award comes directly from the women’s tour itself.

The WTA announced their 2021 player award winners on Tuesday (December 7), which “recognise the stand-out performers from this season”.

Members of the international media vote for the player or doubles team they believe deserve to win each category, and Raducanu was named Newcomer of the Year.

The award has previously been won by the likes of fellow teenager US Open champion Bianca Andreescu in 2019, and world No 2 Aryna Sabalenka in 2018.

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The world No 19 had also enjoyed some success at Grand Slam level before her exceptional US Open triumph.

Ranked down at world No 338 at the time, Raducanu saw her Wimbledon wildcard upgraded last-minute from qualifying to the main draw.

She made her Grand Slam debut on the grass courts of the All England Club just three weeks after making her pro debut at the WTA 250 in Nottingham, where she lost in the first round to compatriot Harriet Dart.

Then 18, the little-known player stormed through to the second week without dropping a set, beating the likes of 2019 French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova en route.

Here run at Wimbledon saw her become the youngest women in the Open Era to reach the last 16, before she retired in the fourth round with breathing difficulties.

The WTA Newcomer award is her fourth in under a week, as she won both Sportswoman of the Year and International Newcomer at the SJA British Sports Awards, and on Monday was crowned the BT Sport Action Woman of the Year.

Raducanu could also add the big one – BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year – to her list of awards later this month.

The 19-year-old is the favourite to win although she won’t be in the country for the ceremony as it collides with her pre-season training and exhibition match at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship.

Following her recent homecoming exhibition match at London’s Royal Albert Hall, she admitted she wanted F1 driver Lewis Hamilton to win the award and struggled to believe she was in with a chance, saying: “Just don’t even think about it. Like for me, it’s something that’s so far out of the realms of possibility like I just don’t understand how it could even be a possibility.”

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