Emma Raducanu goes viral after epic US Open victory act
British teenager Emma Raducanu is the hottest property in women's tennis right now after her historic victory in the US Open final.
Raducanu consolidated her popularity around the world with one simple act after her unprecedented victory in New York.
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After becoming the first qualifier in tennis history to win a US Open title by beating fellow teen Leylah Fernandez in straight sets, Raducanu shared her excitement with a special message in Mandarin to an enormous legion of new fans.
Born to a Romanian father and a Chinese mother, Raducanu said she was inspired by China's two-time major winner Li Na and Simona Halep while growing up.
But it was a special thank you to her Mandarin-speaking fans that has set the internet alight.
The teenage champion took to US Open’s Weibo account to thank her supporters in China after the victory, with her message quickly going viral.
“Hi everyone, I want to say thank you, I hope you enjoy watching my tennis,” she said in Mandarin.
“I am very happy now, but we won the game! Goodbye, I love you.”
The message in Mandarin was viewed more than a million times, while one hashtag, "18-year-old ethnic Chinese young player wins US open championship," was viewed more than 200 million times.
The staggering numbers provide a glimpse into the potential of Raducanu's worldwide reach, with her popularity exploding on similar levels to that of tennis rival, Naomi Osaka.
Raducanu only recently opened a Weibo account and despite not being activated, numerous groups and fan accounts have already begun spawning.
The Brit has spoken previously about what her Chinese and Romanian background means to her and told British Vogue how it boosts her self-confidence.
Emma Raducanu's hails Chinese culture
“My mum comes from a Chinese background. They have very good self-belief. It’s not necessarily about telling everyone how good you are, but it’s about believing it within yourself. I really respect that about the culture,” she said.
"She's always instilled a lot of discipline and respect for other people into me, so I think that having parents like I do, they always push me, they have high expectations so I've always tried to live up to that. And I just hope I did them proud this week and I'm going to keep trying to go, keep going."
Her history-making triumph saw Raducanu gain a remarkable 127 spots in the latest world rankings released by the WTA - which puts Raducanu as the world's 23rd ranked female player.
That's an extraordinary 325 places above where she started before Wimbledon, just two months ago.
By winning the US Open as a qualifier, Raducanu earned 2,040 points and jumped 127 spots to overtake Johanna Konta as the highest-ranked woman from Britain.
US Open runner-up Fernandez, 19, moved up 45 places to 28th following her defeat to Raducanu in the decider.
Australia's Ash Barty remains world No.1 on a best 10,075 points ahead of Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus on 7,720.
with agencies
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