Eighteen-year-old British wildcard Emma Raducanu stuns 2019 French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets to reach the Wimbledon third round.
| Venue: All England Club Dates: 28 June-11 July |
| Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full details here |
Raducanu, who finished her A-Levels two months ago, won 6-2 6-4.
Ranked 338th in the world, she will next face Sorana Cirstea after the Romanian defeated Victoria Azarenka.
“Just to be able to be at the championships, I feel like I’m on a holiday,” she said.
“It’s unbelievable. I just want to stay here for as long as I can.”
Raducanu is making her Grand Slam debut, having only made her maiden appearance on the WTA Tour in June.
She has been touted as the future of British women’s tennis, earning a Fed Cup call-up earlier in the year, and continues as the only female Briton remaining in the Wimbledon singles draw.
She will pocket £115,000 for reaching the third round – around four times her career earnings to date of $39,558 (£28,762).
Raducanu defeated Russian’s Vitalia Diatchenko in the first round on Wednesday, before her shock win over Czech world number 41 Vondrousova.
She looked dominant from the off on court 12. After Vondrousova held her opening service game, Raducanu then won five games on the bounce to go a double break up.
It left her opponent stunned, the 22-year-old frequently shaking her head in frustration as she struggled to contain the even younger whipper-snapper on the other side of the net.
But in the second set, it looked as though Vondrousova was going to take back control, winning the first three games as the nerves crept into Raducanu’s play.
Yet buoyed by the home crowd, Raducanu managed to scramble her way back, her powerful hitting helping her to twice break back before Vondrousova sent a forehand return into the net to hand the Briton victory.
She is the youngest British woman to reach the Wimbledon third round since Elena Baltacha did so in 2002, also as an 18-year-old.
“I think from a young age, my parents always drilled into me that my attitude was the most important thing, and it’s either going to make or break my career,” she told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Now I’m the one who is leading that and I find that’s the best way I cope with those pressured situations.”
Who is Emma Raducanu?
Born in Canada to a Romanian father and a Chinese mother, Raducanu moved to Britain at the age of two and grew up in London.
Initially starting in ballet, she was thrown into a variety of sports by her father, including horse riding, swimming, basketball and go-karting.
But it was tennis that stuck, with Raducanu first picking up a tennis racquet at the age of five and going on to join the Bromley Tennis Academy.
She is now one of 12 players on the LTA’s Pro Scholarship Programme, alongside the likes of Jack Draper, Katie Boulter, Aidan McHugh and Francesca Jones.
She has won three ITF titles and, after completing her A Levels in maths and economics, will now focus on tennis full time.
Asked if she would prefer top grades in her exams or a place in the fourth round, she said: “I’d have to say round four of Wimbledon.
“I think anyone that knows me would be like, what? Everyone thinks I’m absolutely fanatic about my school results. They think I have such an inflated ego about it.
“Actually, I would say I have high standards of myself. That’s helped me get to where I am in terms of tennis and also in terms of school results.
“I’d still pick round four.”
