But no matter: she had already claimed the hearts of the British public, arguably the hardest-to-win prize of all.īeing the “odd one out” was something Raducanu, at first, had to grow used to, but then took pleasure from. It was a crushing disappointment for Raducanu and her new legion of fans. Then, five days after her first match, when she was the only Briton left in the singles, Raducanu’s tournament ended as dramatically as it began, when she had to bow out of her match against Ajla Tomljanovic halfway through the second set, after she started experiencing difficulties with her breathing. Whirlwind doesn’t adequately describe the life-changing days that the teenager experienced on the fabled grass courts, which saw a wild card-then ranked world number 338, she is, at the time of writing, 184-take on three of the world’s top players (Vitalia Diatchenko, Sorana Cîrstea, Markéta Vondroušová) and eviscerate each one. Raducanu-the young tennis star who, this summer, appeared as if from nowhere to become the nation’s most exciting player in a decade-is in a north London studio being photographed for British Vogue, offering the assorted collection of delighted onlookers (stylist, make-up artist, assistants) a tiny snapshot of the talent that helped make her the first debuting British woman in 42 years to get to the fourth round of Wimbledon. Then the camera clicks and the 18-year-old from Kent breaks into a wide, toothy grin. From underneath her cap, she stares straight ahead, focused, serious.

Swoosh! Emma Raducanu’s tennis racket slices through the air to the approving coos of spectators, as dust rises from where her feet have gracefully landed on the ground.

The Teen Vogue Handbook by Teen Vogue