Emma Raducanu: For making sporting fantasy a reality, she is deserved Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year

Raducanu burst on to the big stage on July 3 when she became the youngest British woman to reach the round of 16 of Wimbledon in the open era. To be frank, that was achievement enough to be going on with, not least because of the manner in which she defeated Sorana Cirstea on a No 1 Court packed with partisan delirium.

Raducanu, whose mother is Chinese and father Romanian, did not get lucky, did not slog her way to victory — she entertained us. Young enough to palpably still be learning the ropes, we saw her navigate the points with acute intelligence. Where on earth had she come from? Raducanu was not even the British wildcard entrant that had initially caught the imagination that summer. Jack Draper, her friend, had been drawn against Novak Djokovic in the first round and acquitted himself well by not becoming overawed by the occasion. Elsewhere, Raducanu was quietly and elegantly inching herself towards the show courts.

Then came the first setback. Just as we were dreaming of a first British female singles winner at Wimbledon since Virginia Wade in 1977, Raducanu failed to complete her fourth-round match against Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia. It was uncharted territory for the teenager, and plenty were quick to speak in haste of a lack of mental fortitude. The trope of how we build up heroes to simply knock them down felt like a parody. No one really knew this intelligent, engaging player, and yet some felt compelled to doubt we could take her seriously.

This is what made her triumph at the US Open all the more incredible. Raducanu had to navigate the qualification process to earn the right to compete at her second grand-slam tournament and did so with unnerving ability, even then visibly learning as she progressed. We were privileged to be watching not only a British winner but one who was blossoming before our eyes.

Few pundits were brave enough to predict that she could actually win the tournament and, even when she reached the final after an all too comfortable semi-final victory over Maria Sakkari, the 17th seed, there was a reluctance to either jinx the fairytale or sound overly patriotic. The British public did not mind, though, and there was a battle behind the scenes to bring the final to terrestrial TV. It was won by Channel 4, which was rewarded with its highest audience figures since the 2012 Paralympics as 9.2 million tuned in.

Perhaps it is impossible to compete on the world stage without a degree of showmanship but still, it was both a surprise and a delight to watch Raducanu whip up the crowd as she faced the enormously popular Leylah Fernandez, herself still a teenager, who had defeated three top-five competitors to reach the final.

It was engrossing, tense and packed with quality as the teenager from Bromley became the youngest female grand-slam winner since the 17-year-old Maria Sharapova shone at the All England Club in 2004. It was dramatic enough without the timeout imposed by the umpire after Raducanu grazed her knee, causing it to bleed, but the player who had been ranked No 338 in the world when she arrived at the All England Club in June returned to the court to save a break point and find herself serving for the title which has changed her life and the landscape of women’s tennis in Britain.

The full list of winners

The Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year 2021 – Emma Raducanu

Young Sportswoman of the Year – Bethany Shriever

Editor’s Choice – Rachael Blackmore

Helen Rollason Award for Inspiration – Ellie Simmonds

Changemaker Award – Dr Emma Ross

Sky Sports Team of the Year -Laura Kenny & Katie Archibald

Grassroots Sportswoman of the Year – Clova Court

Disability Sportswoman of the Year – Hannah Cockroft

The Times