Emma Raducanu oblivious to US Open excitement sweeping England

Emma Raducanu reacts after reaching US Open final

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Tennis fever is sweeping the country thanks to Emma Raducanu. The 18-year-old came through qualifying to become the first British woman in 44 years to reach the US Open final. Despite making history as the first-ever qualifier to reach a Major final, the Brit is blissfully unaware of the attention she’s getting back home, admitting that she doesn’t realise what’s going on outside of the tournament.

Raducanu made a name for herself as a future star during her Wimbledon run earlier this year, where she stormed to the second week of her maiden Grand Slam as a wild card, ranked at world No 338.

However, the Bromley teenager has since shown that she doesn’t need to wait until the future to find success, having incredibly made it to the final of her second-ever Major.

The current world No 150 is yet to drop a set through three qualifying matches and six main-draw contests, as she prepares to face fellow teen Leylah Fernandez in Saturday’s eagerly-anticipated final.

Her exploits at Flushing Meadows have earned her international recognition and made her a household name back home in the UK, as she can become the first British female Slam champion since Virginia Wade in 1977.

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Despite the buzz surrounding Raducanu back home, the teen admitted she is oblivious to anything happening in England, as she focuses on the tournament.

“Thank you to anyone who’s following any of the results here,” the teenager said.

“It really means a lot, all of the support I’m receiving and the messages. I’m sorry if I can’t reply to all of them.”

Raducanu has continued to look calm and composed during her historic run to the final in New York, able to dig herself out of trouble when going a break down and remaining humble during her on-court interviews.

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It seems her secret has been to keep her attention on her matches and spend less time on her phone, revealing the reason she remains unaware of any attention she’s receiving at home.

The 18-year-old continued: “I’m honestly just here physically and also I give my phone away, I don’t really check it. But I’m very appreciative of all the support.

“I don’t really realise what’s going on back home because I’ve just been so focused here, keeping it tight and close with my team.”

Whether or not Raducanu wins the title, one thing is for certain – she’s not going anywhere.

She is now up to world No 32 in the live rankings, meaning she would now be seeded at a Grand Slam after needing to qualify for a US Open spot.

The young star could make it to the top 25 with the title, with either ranking being high enough to earn her spots in more main-draw events on the WTA Tour.

Right now, her focus remains firmly on her final clash with Fernandez, who turned 19 years old on Monday and has previously faced the Brit in juniors.

“We first encountered each other because I was born in Toronto and she was Canadian, so we kind of made a little relationship back then,” Raducanu said, speaking of her opponent, having won their only previous meeting in the girls’ singles at Wimbledon three years ago.

“Obviously since then we’ve both come very far in our games and as people. I’m sure it’s going to be extremely different to when we last encountered each other. But we’re both playing good tennis so it will be a good match.”

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