British 18-year-old Emma Raducanu marked history after beating Leylah Annie Fernandez at the US Open, becoming the youngest Grand Slam champion since Maria Sharapova in 2004.
Raducanu ended her exceptional run in New York with a 6-4 6-3 win after having dominated on her way to the final.
The teenage champion did not drop a single set en route to the final, despite facing Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.
After only having made her WTA main-draw debut in June, the breakout star shocked the world to become the only woman in the Open era to win a grand slam after so few attempts, as this run marks only her second grand slam main draw appearance.
“She hits so cleanly. I cannot come up with a reason for this to happen. It does not make sense at all. Her performance is mindboggling,” said former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash said on Raducanu.
After congratulating Fernandez and her team on their run and thanking her own entourage and supporters, Raducanu said: “It was an incredibly difficult match but I thought the level was extremely high. I hope we play each other in many more tournaments and hopefully finals.”
After just her fourth tour-level event, Raducanu leaves New York as the champion. After starting the summer ranked 366th and the 12th-ranked British player, she is now the world No 23.
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