Author Description

Raducanu's Fairy Tale in New York In August and early September 2021, a British teenage tennis player, Emma Raducanu, defied all expectations by winning the US Open Tennis Championship. She was the first qualifier ever to win any major in the open era, male or female. In doing so, she won ten consecutive matches without losing a set, a feat never before achieved in a Grand Slam event. It has been called one of the greatest achievements in sporting history. So much so, that Raducanu went on to win the British Sports Personality of the Year, Woman's Tennis Association's Newcomer of the Year, and Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year. Her US Open win has been dubbed "The Fairy Tale in New York". The achievement will never be forgotten, but it is likely, in future, to become no more than a TV clip or magazine article. The extraordinary effect it had on the experts and professionals of the time - Henman, Navratilova, Courier, Rusedski, Petchey, Croft, Keothavong, Fernandez, Stubbs, Whitaker, Hantuchova and others will all be lost. This is the reason for my book. I do not attempt to describe each point as you might hear it in a radio broadcast, but what I have done is give an understanding of how each point played built towards Raducanu's unique achievement. It also includes the opinions of the experts, whose interest turned first to admiration, from admiration to amazement, amazement to disbelief, and disbelief to absolute astonishment. How that all built up can only be understood by following an account of Emma Raducanu's passage through the entire tournament. I hope it will prove an inspiration to every young tennis player with dreams of reaching a Grand Slam final - and winning it. 20% of the proceeds will go to Plan International after production costs.