What is a miracle?
In two months, from an obscure tennis player ranked 300 away in the world, he became the youngest Grand Slam winner since Wimbledon Sharapova in 2004.
On September 11, US time, in the women's singles final of the US Open (hereinafter referred to as the "US Open"), 18-year-old Chinese (Mixed Chinese and Romanian) young player Emma Raducanu won the Grand Slam!
Do you know what the best thing is?
In the history of tennis, no one has been able to win from the qualifiers to the final and finally win the cup.
However, since the qualifiers, Emma has not lost a set, won 10 consecutive wins (3 qualifiers + 7 regular matches), won 20 consecutive sets to win the championship, becoming the first person in the history of the US Open!
In addition, the victory in this final also allowed Emma to create more tennis history -
The first british female tennis player to reach a Grand Slam singles final in 44 years
The first British female player in 53 years to reach the final of the US Open
The youngest British Grand Slam finalist in 62 years
The first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title in the Open era
Winner of the US Open in history, the lowest ranked player in the world
...
She makes history and we are blessed to witness it!
You know, the US Open is only the second Grand Slam tournament that Emma has participated in.
The first time was the Wimbledon Tennis Championships three months ago (hereinafter referred to as "Wimbledon").
At that time, Emma was a full-time middle school student who had never participated in any Grand Slam tournaments, and the world ranking was only 338, which did not even reach the threshold of the qualification.
Henman, the British tennis star responsible for handing out wild cards (quotas for players who were not eligible to participate in the competition), hesitated for a long time, whether to give Emma wild cards?
Not to mention Henman, even Emma's mother had booked a return ticket for her daughter before the US Open, thinking that if Emma was eliminated in the first or second round, she could fly directly to Shenyang, China, to reunite with her grandmother.
Almost everyone does not think that Emma will be a "dark horse" with a black end, but Emma herself enjoys the feeling of "not being favored".
She said in an interview with ESPN's Everett on Wednesday. "It's a good feeling to play as a player who is not at all optimistic and you can play freely."
Without the expected game, Emma played with great vigour!
She took the 300-00-away ranking to the top, winning two straight sets in three consecutive rounds, and both of them ranked in the world's top 50.
On the field, what does a temporary ranking represent?
Emma went all the way to the round of sixteen and eventually withdrew from the quarter-finals due to breathing difficulties.
You know, in this Wimbledon, Emma is already the farthest British player, and she also broke a record by the way, becoming the youngest local player to break into the Wimbledon women's singles round of 16 since the Open era.
This time at the US Open, Emma brought a bigger surprise.
In the ten matches from the qualifying round to the US Open final, she did not lose a single set, beating Rogers (now ranked 43 in the world), Bencic, Sakkari and other famous players to win the championship.
In the final with Fernandez (world number 73), the two played a full hour and 51 minutes. Emma struggled to save the ball when she suffered a bruise and bleeding from her knee, and after a brief medical pause, she returned to the game and took the victory without fear.
Emma suffered a bruise and bled from her knee during the match
The best way to face doubts is to put your best results in front of them.
After Wimbledon, Emma's world ranking rose from 338 to 179;
Reached the final of the Chicago leg in late August and improved the ranking to 150;
After the US Open, Emma Kim climbed to 23 with his stunning performance in New York!
From 338 to 23, she only took two months.
Overnight, Emma became the "First Sister of Britain", F1 general Hamilton, former famous English shooter Reinkel, etc. have sent blessings, and even the Queen of England sent a congratulatory message at the first time -
"Such an outstanding achievement at such a young age is the best proof of your diligence and dedication."
After the match, Emma thanked the Chinese fans with Chinese.
"Hello everyone, I want to say: thank you. I hope you enjoy watching me (play) tennis, I'm so happy right now, we won! ”
Netizens listened, oh mom, this northeast ballast taste is old and kind.
Emma's elderly sister was born in November 2002 in Toronto, Canada, her father is a Romanian immigrant, and her mother is from Shenyang, our great northeast.
Emma's family of three
London, Toronto, Shenyang, Bucharest... Emma has identified these four cities on social media that mean a lot to her.
They are Emma's place of residence, place of birth, mother's hometown, and father's hometown.
China and Emma are somewhat inextricably linked. Although she moved to the UK from the age of 2, Emma never forgot her roots in her hometown.
Before the epidemic, Emma would return to Shenyang almost every year to visit her family, and she would also eat like a little girl and check in at other attractions in China.
Emma in Nanjing
Of course, the must-have items for sports girls are naturally indispensable, and Emma will also train in a local professional table tennis club in Shenyang.
Not only do you play volleyball well, but you also have a full table tennis skill value! Table tennis is indeed engraved in the DNA of the Chinese nation
。
Although she can't read or write Chinese, Emma has said that her Mandarin is "pretty good" because at home, she and her mother often have to use Mandarin to tell secrets that they don't want their father to know.
Emma in infancy
"Communication barrier-free" has made Chinese tennis players such as Emma and Zhang Shuai a good friend, and Emma and Zhang Shuai have also practiced together.
But to say that the tennis idol in her heart, Emma still unswervingly worships Li Na, the "Golden Flower of China".
Speaking of Li Na, Emma always has a light in her eyes, and she once said that Li Na's "aggressive" style of play has impressed her: "She will not miss any opportunity." ”
"She's a fighter on the field, her beliefs are very strong, her weapons are very powerful, such as movement, mentality, inner strength, and a strong sense of belief. I still vividly remember her French Open final with Schiavoni, which was definitely a long and difficult match, but the mental strength and resilience she showed are still lingering in my mind. ”
Li Na is also very concerned about Emma, the "new tennis star"——
"I woke up early to watch this wonderful youth showdown, I like it so much! Congratulations to Raducannu! I am very happy to see so many emerging forces in the women's tennis world, and I hope that I can inspire more teenagers to fall in love with tennis and sports in the future. ”
Even if she was born into a multicultural family, Emma could not escape the fate of being "chicken".
Emma's parents are both financial practitioners and beneficiaries of education, which gives them more choices for the future, so the expectations for their daughters are the same.
"They want me to have options, so they think education is very important for my future."
From an early age, Emma's extracurricular schedule was packed, with ballet and tap dancing lessons, golf, go-karting, motocross, swimming, horseback riding, basketball...
Some of the traditional "boys' projects" were chosen by Emma's dad for his daughter, and in Emma's mind, dad was "different and didn't care what other people thought at the time." ”
Emma with father
Emma was the only girl in the go-kart and motocross training class, but little Emma not only didn't feel twisted, but also thought it was a cool thing to do. At one point, Emma's motocross teacher asked everyone to do push-ups, and Emma was the only one in her class who could do it.
It was only later that as her skills improved, Emma's weekend began to be used for training and racing, and motorsport had to take a back seat, though Emma said her next goal was to get a motorcycle license.
Even Emma herself said that her parents were "difficult to please", and her parents were very strict with her and always asked their daughter to stay motivated.
"They disciplined me very harshly. Not just tennis, but in any other field, I have to be the best I can be, and I do my best, and I think I've developed that mentality since I was a kid. ”
Strict family education has given Emma a healthy competitive spirit.
During Wimbledon, Emma said that she would meditate on every game: "There must always be one person to win, why can't it be me?" ”
"My parents had high expectations of me, they always pushed me forward, and I always did my best not to disappoint their expectations."
However, if there are only high enough expectations, but the lack of correct guidance, it will only make the child "step on the air" and "imbalance" in the process of effort.
The reason why Emma has a healthy competitive spirit is because her mother's words and deeds have given her enough self-confidence.
Emma's mother
Her mother always encouraged Emma and helped her build her confidence, and this kind of education is also related to her Chinese background.
"My mother is from China, and she taught me from an early age to work hard and be strict with myself. They are very confident, and confidence is not necessarily telling everyone how good you are, but to believe in your own heart, and I respect this culture. ”
Diligence and self-discipline have always been watered to Emma as a Chinese mother.
Emma started playing tennis at the age of 5 and won her first ITF Junior Tour title at the age of 13.
The tournament requires players to be at least 13 years old, and Emma competes on the third day after her 13th birthday, which means that the youngest contestant who has just fulfilled the requirements accidentally wins a championship.
Even as a professional tennis player, Emma never gave up on her studies.
Emma studied mathematics and economics at Newsteadwood Secondary School, the most elite school in the UK public education system, and achieved excellent results in Mathematics A+ and Economics A in the High School A exam in April this year.
In Emma's opinion, she did not allow her grades not to get an A. On the Instagram, she also posted photos of herself racing against the clock to review the test center.
Exams in April, Wimbledon in June, how did Emma, the "master of time management", do you do it at the same time?
Don't ask, ask is that even during the exam, she will maintain 3 to 4 hours of training every day.
True morality, intellectual, physical and aesthetic all-round development!
Strict family education has made Emma calm and stable, brave and determined. Behind a good person, there must be a great family.
Emma's old sister, the future can be expected!