[Other Sport] Emma Raducanu

[essbee1]

I want to take a moment to let that bit in bold sink in, because I really, honestly think it is. It's remarkable and fascinating on so many levels.

This is a girl, sorry, woman - who the world simply had not heard of three or four months ago, and who even then most will have forgotten about more or less immediately after her Wimbledon exploits. I'll admit it myself, I watched her at Wimbledon and thought she did well, but ultimately wrote her off as a plucky British wildcard who I didn't necessarily expect to hear much from again. I assumed she didn't have the mental steel to really make a go of it in the game. More fool me.

And yet still, let's not forget that she had to win three qualifying rounds just to get to the starting line. Before Wimbledon she was ranked 361st in the world. Even after doing so well there she went into the US Open ranked 150th in the world. In footballing terms, it's almost the equivalent of an Isthmian League team making it to the FA Cup Final, knocking out a slew of Premier League teams along the way. With ease. It just shouldn't happen, it shouldn't be possible. But this lady seems to take the rules of impossibility and rip them to shreds.

And let's not forget, all of this during a year and a half of massive disruption which will have affected not only her sporting career, but also her education. I wonder if she knew she would be financially set for life just a matter of months after sitting her A-levels? I am certain she will not have had access to the training and facilities that her established rivals will have done, particularly during the early stages of the pandemic. It just adds to the madness of her achievement.

Then you add the fact that her rival in the final has followed a similar path and is not much more experienced, herself having not been further than the third round in a Grand Slam previously. I've not seen as much of Fernandez, but both clearly have massive futures ahead of them.

What a brilliant advert for tennis and women's sport in general. In fact I'm doing her a disservice, sport in general. I've been every bit captivated by her performances in this tournament as I was by Andy Murray in his pomp. Her game is without doubt more polished than Murray's was in the early days of his professional career; far more in fact.

Phenomenal player. Phenomenal woman. Can't wait for the final on Saturday night.

As I have probably mentioned (sorry!) I met her on the train going back to Kent one Friday evening
shortly after Wimbledon. Nobody else seemed to twig who it was. In fact people were walking
past as we did the photos bit. But my gawd, she has an aura of incredible 100% positivity and determination
around her, even from that fleeting meet.

 

[Poojah]

As I have probably mentioned (sorry!) I met her on the train going back to Kent one Friday evening
shortly after Wimbledon. Nobody else seemed to twig who it was. In fact people were walking
past as we did the photos bit. But my gawd, she has an aura of incredible 100% positivity and determination
around her, even from that fleeting meet.

That could well go on to become one hell of an anecdote in years to come.

 

[herecomesaregular]

Maybe Fernandez will give her a game. She's breezed into the final so far.

The way the top seeds have fallen apart mentally this year has been quite shocking (in comparison to the ice coolness of the two teenagers). Sabalenka lost the final game 0-40 on her serve! (and after starting the first set with explosive, top quality tennis).

Really interesting final now and hard to call.

 

[essbee1]

That could well go on to become one hell of an anecdote in years to come.

I'm already a family legend

But above all, the way in which she was so happy to give her time and stop to have a quick chat, even though
her lift from the train station was waiting; I was hugely impressed.

 

[Hamilton]

I want to take a moment to let that bit in bold sink in, because I really, honestly think it is. It's remarkable and fascinating on so many levels.

This is a girl, sorry, woman - who the world simply had not heard of three or four months ago, and who even then most will have forgotten about more or less immediately after her Wimbledon exploits. I'll admit it myself, I watched her at Wimbledon and thought she did well, but ultimately wrote her off as a plucky British wildcard who I didn't necessarily expect to hear much from again. I assumed she didn't have the mental steel to really make a go of it in the game. More fool me.

And yet still, let's not forget that she had to win three qualifying rounds just to get to the starting line. Before Wimbledon she was ranked 361st in the world. Even after doing so well there she went into the US Open ranked 150th in the world. In footballing terms, it's almost the equivalent of an Isthmian League team making it to the FA Cup Final, knocking out a slew of Premier League teams along the way. With ease. It just shouldn't happen, it shouldn't be possible. But this lady seems to take the rules of impossibility and rip them to shreds.

And let's not forget, all of this during a year and a half of massive disruption which will have affected not only her sporting career, but also her education. I wonder if she knew she would be financially set for life just a matter of months after sitting her A-levels? I am certain she will not have had access to the training and facilities that her established rivals will have done, particularly during the early stages of the pandemic. It just adds to the madness of her achievement.

Then you add the fact that her rival in the final has followed a similar path and is not much more experienced, herself having not been further than the third round in a Grand Slam previously. I've not seen as much of Fernandez, but both clearly have massive futures ahead of them.

What a brilliant advert for tennis and women's sport in general. In fact I'm doing her a disservice, sport in general. I've been every bit captivated by her performances in this tournament as I was by Andy Murray in his pomp. Her game is without doubt more polished than Murray's was in the early days of his professional career; far more in fact.

Phenomenal player. Phenomenal woman. Can't wait for the final on Saturday night.

Fantastic post.

She certainly seems to exude positivity and a genuine enjoyment for what she's doing. So great to have a role model like this - not just for young people but for us all.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

One thing interests me. There has been a lot of talk about records because of how young she is and how inexperienced and low ranked and how she had to qualify. But ignoring those youth-related records - how many records is she setting against all ages? It's not uncommon to reach the final of a ladies' slam without dropping a set, but how often does someone get there without even facing a tie break? And how many finalists have lost fewer than 27 games in the 6 main draw matches?

She's certainly going to to be up there in terms of games lost, she had blown all her opponents away.

I think the age thing is a bit over- played, she isn't actually that young for tennis. Its far more about her inexperience - which is probably a side product of the lockdowns and cancellations of all the tennis tournaments below the elite level for a year and a half. She had already reached five ITF challenger finals, winning three, by March 2020, and then her progress was basically put on hold. If things were normal she'd have probably continued a rankings rise throughout this period and made it to WTA tour proper. Her sudden arrival just makes all this more exciting of course!

But womens tennis has always been defined by teenagers. Serena and Goolagong and Kuznetsova and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario won their first as a teen, Sharapova and Evert and Court and Mandlikova won their first few as teens. Martina Hingis was the undisputed best player in the world as a teenager (ditto Monica Seles), by the time she hit 20 she was on the way down. Tracy Austin too had her entire career as a teenager, and was done by the time she left them. Capriati too had that whole first chapter of her career at an age they're not even allowed to play full time anymore. Steffi Graf and Maureen Connolly (back in the 50s) did the Grand Slam as teenagers. The list of players who played their first final as a teenager - Venus, Mauresmo, Clijsters, Henin, Mary Pierce - is full of soon to be multiple slam winners.

I'm pretty sure the list of great players who didn't make their first impression as a teenager is smaller in the womens game than the ones who did

Which is to say, she could become a great!

 

[Hamilton]

If she wins, SPOTY is going to be a very tough call this year.

 

[Billy the Fish]

Maybe Fernandez will give her a game. She's breezed into the final so far.

The way the top seeds have fallen apart mentally this year has been quite shocking (in comparison to the ice coolness of the two teenagers). Sabalenka lost the final game 0-40 on her serve! (and after starting the first set with explosive, top quality tennis).

Really interesting final now and hard to call.

Just read the Fernandez has beaten 3 of the top 5, which would explain why she's dropped more points and sets then Emma.

This game has the potential to be a classic

 

[Pavilionaire]

If she wins, SPOTY is going to be a very tough call this year.

If she does win this tournament then the only reason she might not win is because the US Open is on Amazon Prime. If it was on terrestrial I'd say she'd walk SPOTY.

There are so many Olympic gold medallists that the votes will be split between them, and even if Lewis Hamilton wins an unprecedented 8th world title Verstappen has already shown Lewis is fallible. However, this girl is transforming the entire sport of women's tennis and has not put a foot wrong, she is remarkable.

 

[Bodian]

Not to me…but there are so many things I’ve said in my life that I hesitate to say online or in company these days though .

Even my own kids pull me up on comments I make as being unpc, it’s very wearing

Here you go - 7 reasons why you should stop calling children 'kids' !! https://www.skola.toys/blogs/skolar-blogs/no-kidding-7-reasons-why-you-should-stop-calling-children-kids

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

[BIf she does win this tournament then the only reason she might not win is because the US Open is on Amazon Prime. If it was on terrestrial I'd say she'd walk SPOTY.[/B]

There are so many Olympic gold medallists that the votes will be split between them, and even if Lewis Hamilton wins an unprecedented 8th world title Verstappen has already shown Lewis is fallible. However, this girl is transforming the entire sport of women's tennis and has not put a foot wrong, she is remarkable.

Would be amazed if it ends up being squandered on Amazon Prime to be honest. They've accidentally stumbled upon the ultimate motherlode. Why on earth would they not sell on the viewing rights to a more far-reaching broadcaster?

 

[El Presidente]

According to Gavin Williamson she's one of the world's best players and he is confident we will win the World Cup in Qatar next year as a result.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

Just read the Fernandez has beaten 3 of the top 5, which would explain why she's dropped more points and sets then Emma.

This game has the potential to be a classic

This hasn't been mentioned much, but Fernández has had a much harder run to the final. Having said that Raducanu beat the Olympic Champion, and in the juniors Raducanu beat Fernández.

Either way, it's great to watch.

 

[MJsGhost]

Would be amazed if it ends up being squandered on Amazon Prime to be honest. They've accidentally stumbled upon the ultimate motherlode. Why on earth would they not sell on the viewing rights to a more far-reaching broadcaster?

This is exactly the reason they buy the rights and aren't going to be selling them on now - they want to encourage people to sign up to Prime, so why on Earth would they take away an unexpectedly massive reason for a raft of new subscribers to sign up?

Do you think Amazon needs a short-term cash injection?

They would either have to be made a HUGE offer, or tie it in with some other longer-term PR/marketing strategy (make a meal of making it available in the UK to ingratiate themselves to the tennis-loving demographic?!)

 

[Pavilionaire]

Would be amazed if it ends up being squandered on Amazon Prime to be honest. They've accidentally stumbled upon the ultimate motherlode. Why on earth would they not sell on the viewing rights to a more far-reaching broadcaster?

Maybe because millions in the UK - in their desperation to watch Emma make history - might sign up for the 30-day free trial and end up staying with Amazon Prime?

 

[bhafc99]

Maybe because millions in the UK - in their desperation to watch Emma make history - might sign up for the 30-day free trial and end up staying with Amazon Prime?

Given that you need the eyes of a hawk and concentration of Anya Taylor-Joy’s Queen’s Gambit character to negotiate the endless moments where even the simplest Amazon purchase tries to tripwire trick you into ‘accidentally’ agreeing to a Prime trial, are there even ‘millions of people’ NOT yet subscribed?

 

[Simster]

Given that you need the eyes of a hawk and concentration of Anya Taylor-Joy’s Queen’s Gambit character to negotiate the endless moments where even the simplest Amazon purchase tries to tripwire trick you into ‘accidentally’ agreeing to a Prime trial, are there even ‘millions of people’ NOT yet subscribed?

10.1 million households in the UK have Amazon Prime Video, that's out of 28 million.

 

[Wozza]

If she wins, SPOTY is going to be a very tough call this year.

Is she wins, she'll be nailed on to win it. She's already favoruite.

 

[highflyer]

10.1 million households in the UK have Amazon Prime Video, that's out of 28 million.

It does take a little bit of focus to get out of the free trial. But actually it is very slighty easier than avoiding getting signed up in the first place.

You can do as many free trials as you like (or at least, we haven't found a limit yet). Just put a reminder in your diary 28 days down the road to unsubscribe and away you go.

I've done it for football and tennis. Others in the household tend to time the free trials around planned spending sprees

So far have avoided any (as far as I can tell) payment to Amazon, which won't hurt them too much, the tax dodging, exploitative, monopolist ********.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

It does take a little bit of focus to get out of the free trial. But actually it is very slighty easier than avoiding getting signed up in the first place.

You can do as many free trials as you like (or at least, we haven't found a limit yet). Just put a reminder in your diary 28 days down the road to unsubscribe and away you go.

I've done it for football and tennis. Others in the household tend to time the free trials around planned spending sprees

So far have avoided any (as far as I can tell) payment to Amazon, which won't hurt them too much, the tax dodging, exploitative, monopolist ********.

Because I have an ac.uk email address they assumed I am a student, so I have been paying student rates.....

There isn't much on the Amazon telly channel that interests me, and I am not a movie watcher but free delivery on a range of productes more than pays for it.

Plus of course I have watched our Emma smashing her opponents recently