A version of this article was originally published in December 2021
Going into the summer of 2021, few outside British tennis circles had heard of Emma Raducanu. By the end of the US Open in September, she was a national superstar and known around the globe.
Winning the Grand Slam title as an 18-year-old qualifier was a staggering achievement, one that had never been done before at any of tennis’ four majors.
As she prepares to return to Flushing Meadows as the defending champion next week, we revisit the triumph that transformed the Bromley teenager from a 499-1 pre-tournament outsider to the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Featuring interviews with British tennis legends Virginia Wade and Tim Henman, plus members of Raducanu’s backroom team, this is a taste of a BBC Radio 5 Live Sport documentary’s insight into one of the greatest achievements and most incredible stories in the history of sport.
Arriving in New York: ‘Her body was toast’
A couple of months before last year’s US Open, Raducanu was launched into the consciousness of the British public with a scintillating run at Wimbledon.
Having been given a wildcard to her home Grand Slam, she reached the last 16 before breathing problems forced her to retire against Ajla Tomljanovic in what was then the biggest match of her career.
Wimbledon was her second professional tournament and to reach the US Open main draw in only her fourth, the world number 150 would have to win three qualifying matches in New York.
Henman, the former British men’s number one, is close friends with Andrew Richardson, the coach who helped guide Raducanu to the US Open title.
“If you had said to Emma and Andrew before qualifying ‘would you sign a document to guarantee winning three qualifying matches but lose in the first round of the main draw?’ I think there is a fair chance both would have signed on the dotted line,” said Henman.
That view is supported by Will Herbert, the physio who Raducanu called ‘The Mechanic’ for keeping her fit during the US Open.
“My memory of seeing Emma for the first time in New York is that her body was toast. She was exhausted,” Herbert recalled.
“She had some pretty successful weeks in Chicago so her body was a bit of a mess. Our initial aim was to get her through ‘qualies’. That’s where we felt she was.
“The mobility in her back had gone and muscles were fatigued. Our aim was to try and restore…
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