The U.S. Open tennis championships in New York City made history this year as it crowned British teenager Emma Raducanu and 25-year old Russian Daniil Medvedev with Championship titles, with each winning their first grand slam title.
The 18-year old Raducanu, a 100 to 1 pick to win at the outset of the tournament, beat 19-year old Canadian Leyla Fernandez, a 200 to 1 pick at the outset of the tournament, 6-4 6-3.
Raducanu won 10 straight matches, three in qualifying and 7 in the main draw, without dropping a set. She is the first grand slam winner to come from qualifying, an awe-inspiring feat given the warm new york city temperatures during qualifying and that she withdrew from her fourth-round match at Wimbledon due to a panic attack.
Her win also brought her a congratulatory tweet from Queen Elizabeth. Her full message praised the young player’s hard work and dedication.
The next day, world #2 Daniil Medvedev stunned world number 1 Novak Djokovic, 6-4 6-4 6-4 to deny him the calendar-year Grand Slam (winning the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open in the same calendar year).
Djokovic shed tears at the end of the match, seemingly releasing the pressure of pursuing a historic Grand Slam, the first male since Australian Rod Laver in 1969. (German Steffi Graf won the calendar-year Grand Slam for the women in 1988, actually winning the Golden Slam, the four Grand Slams, and the Olympics in Seoul, Korea.) Both champions ended long droughts for their countries.
Raducanu is the first British woman to win the U.S. Open since Virginia Wade in 1968. Medvedev is the first Russian male to win the U.S. open since marat safin in 2000.