Emma Raducanu Wins Laureus World Sports Award Breakthrough of the Year

Emma Raducanu is a champion again.

The 2021 US Open champion won the Laureus World Sports Award Breakthrough of the Year award on Sunday night.

Raducanu became a global sensation when she won the US Open at the age of 18, the first ever qualifier in tennis history to win a Grand Slam.

In a remarkable performance, she came through three rounds of qualifying and seven main draw matches at Flushing Meadows without dropping a set, defeating Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in the final. It was only her second Grand Slam event.

In June, ranked 338 in the world, Raducanu had been awarded a wildcard into the main draw at Wimbledon and reached the fourth round. As a result of her US Open win, she reached a world ranking of 23, and rounded off the year at No.19. She was born in Canada but moved to the UK when she was two. Her father is from Romania and her mother is Chinese.

“Thank you so much Li Na. You have been a great inspiration to me all my career,” said Raducanu, who received the award from one of her tennis heroes, Li Na. “Thank you so much to the Laureus Academy for voting for me. It means so much to receive this Award and I really want to congratulate my other Nominees. I feel like it’s been a really great year for me, but I’ve still got a lot of work to do. Thank you so much.”

Two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na praised Raducanu.

“Congrats. I am happy as a Member of the Laureus Academy that my colleagues and I have chosen you for the Breakthrough of the Year,” Li Na said. “Your hard work and your skills have earned you fans all around the world, and many in China, including me.

“I heard you say that you want to play like me. Wow! Now I have to say I really want to play like you.”