2021 US Open Women's Final: [Q] Emma Raducanu (GBR) vs Leylah Annie Fernandez (CAN)

Who will be the 2021 US Open Women's Champion?

  • Fernandez in 2

    Votes: 5 3.8%
  • Fernandez in 3

    Votes: 42 31.6%
  • Raducanu in 3

    Votes: 29 21.8%
  • Raducanu in 2

    Votes: 57 42.9%

  • Total voters
    133
  • Poll closed .

Jokervich

Hall of Fame
omg I never watched so long a price celeb.. but this kid Emma is so cute. she looks so naturally happy and joyful
They often are at that age, especially if they had a relatively privileged upbringing with no hardships in life, which sounds like the case after hearing her backstory. They both look really young though - it felt like a match between 2 children. Sabalenka Fernandez match felt like a grown woman against a little girl.
 

Bud

Bionic Poster
I love how one’s success in UK makes them a Brit, while unknowns are “immigrants” from Romania or Poland or China coming there to take their jobs. Brits are so selective :-D
I think that applies to most countries. They embrace winners.
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
Emma got a huge following after her Wimby showing, and this win will make her a bigger celeb in Britain. If she wins Wimby in the near future, she'll basically be royalty in England. The British press are viscous, I hope they don't ruin her. I wish her all the best. She is the real deal.
I think you are right but emma seem more shy and not as marketable throughout the world. One other thing i worrie about is her not being white, not sure how british press and public will embrace her as their own. There are some questionable support issues in british sports for minority sporting stars in the past
 

FakeEmpire

Professional
your-tears-are-delicious-360x500_1_.jpg

TOO !

Let me use my portuguese shield against Brits: Cristiano Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo!

If you think I'm actually salty about Raducanu winning, you're way off. I'm really impressed with her. I just think British press has a way of going truly overboard (and ending up not helping their own at all). Hell, some people on this very forum were saying stuff like bow to the British sporting excellence, that single-handedly saved tennis. Wtf!? Some people really can't handle a joke without calling others mugs, salty and so on. Sheesh.
 

BoxbeamsFTW

Semi-Pro
What?! You're calling out Ecuador? Ecuador?! I've heard it all.
I don't mean it in a bad way. Just that some ethnicities or cultures have a way of going about things or reacting in certain ways. Like the stereotype fiery Italian. Just a tendency. And she likely would have got it from somewhere.
You were looking for the word “entitled”
Almost... But I feel entitled to me means, she came from a privileged background or even deeper self-centred mindset. To me she just seems maybe bratty so far. She is very confident though.
 

Sysyphus

Talk Tennis Guru
coolest tennis story in my time as a tennis fan? just might be.

a tad too young to've watched goran 2001

in any case, this was a captivating run
 

Picmun

Hall of Fame
Let me use my portuguese shield against Brits: Cristiano Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo!

If you think I'm actually salty about Raducanu winning, you're way off. I'm really impressed with her. I just think British press has a way of going truly overboard (and ending up not helping their own at all). Hell, some people on this very forum were saying stuff like bow to the British sporting excellence, that single-handedly saved tennis. Wtf!? Some people really can't handle a joke without calling others mugs, salty and so on. Sheesh.
1q5nvm9-front-shortedge-384.jpg
 

bluetrain4

G.O.A.T.
Prediction - the WTA doesn't become NextGen Emma and Leylah show; they're not going to dominate - despite what they did here. Now they awake to a world of being known entities and the attendant expectations and pressures - both on and off court. I'm certain they'll have future successes - big ones - but I don't think the WTA is going to fall away and we're going to have a new Chris-Martina thing where one or both are in most Slam finals for years on end. I see more of a Barty situation for both - they'll win and/or make more finals, but that will alternate with not great Slam performances - some due to them being off, some due to just getting outplayed by good players who are playing better on a given day.
 

-NN-

G.O.A.T.
coolest tennis story in my time as a tennis fan? just might be.

a tad too young to've watched goran 2001

in any case, this was a captivating run

Far less shocking but Sharapova's 2004 Wimbledon run was memorable, her being 17 and trouncing Rena and all - but she was seeded. As you imply, Goran's Wimbledon win was a helluva story.

But for me, this is indeed the coolest. Actually, it's pretty surreal.
 

celito

Professional
LOL - it was a surface graze. It wasn't an emergency.
She took FREAKING 5+ mins of MTO. How much time does a freaking bandage take - 30 sec tops.
Fact - she would have been broken. And Fernandez lost all momemntum.

Emma played amazing tennis sure. But she should have done it without the GAMESMANSHIP.

The way this match was going, the BP meant little. They had so many on each other and saved tons of BPs. And it was on her own serve.
 

James P

G.O.A.T.
Yeah, I also doubt it'll be a two woman show. There's honestly a lot of good players that are young. Nobody has taken the reins of greatness except the mental case that may never play again.
 

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
those speeches should take all the heat off of Leyla, let's stop being too harsh just yet.

I’m not a huge fan of Leylah being a suck up to the crowd tbh. The crowd has loved it, but I think she overdoes it. Everything is always “for me”, like you never stopped fighting for me. You guys got me through it. I wouldn’t have done it without you. It’s a bit of a cringe move IMHO.

That said, I’ll give her a pass on that and the MTO business for now, but if it continues perhaps not.

Same thing with Andreescu. She was a darling for two weeks a couple years ago, but in the years since it seems like it’s always something. I wish her health and being injury free, but she’s become a drama queen tbh. Her press conference after her loss in Canada was very disappointing. She acted very bratty and like a sore loser, so she’s got a lot of growing up to do. Maybe LAF is a bit more grounded but still there are issues there. And I say all this being Canadian as I think most of you know by now. Just being Canadian is not a guarantee that all Canadians are going to like you.

Actually, Canada has a bit of a reputation as a country for being hard on their own. Most of us don’t like cry babies or complainers or anything of the sort. We’re not all sorry eh friendly people especially when it comes to sports. That’s just a bad stereotype. Leylah’s young so like I said she’s okay for now, but not necessarily for long.
 
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Vrad

Professional
A championship photo of two teenagers holding the trophies on the women's side, compared to the championship photo we'll see tomorrow of a 34-year-old and a guy who looks like a 34-year-old holding the trophies on the men's side.

A tale of two tours.
If these 2 players, and some of the other younger players on the women’s tour get more consistent, they will be the answer to the Big 4 question.

Tennis will grow because of the women, like it did in the first half of the 2000s.

The men’s tour looks dead and moribund. Whereas the women’s tour looks hopeful and the future.

I do hope that some of the younger exciting players on the men’s tour are able to do well, but in the past they’ve fizzled because of injury or loss of interest, and we continue to have the tour led by 35-40 year olds.
 

mightyrick

Legend
Prediction - the WTA doesn't become NextGen Emma and Leylah show; they're not going to dominate - despite what they did here. Now they awake to a world of being known entities and the attendant expectations and pressures - both on and off court. I'm certain they'll have future successes - big ones - but I don't think the WTA is going to fall away and we're going to have a new Chris-Martina thing where one or both are in most Slam finals for years on end. I see more of a Barty situation for both - they'll win and/or make more finals, but that will alternate with not great Slam performances - some due to them being off, some due to just getting outplayed by good players who are playing better on a given day.

Well, this is the great thing about the current WTA. It's nobody's show in particular. The strength and depth of the field is immense, though. It means you get better matches, more exciting matchups, and a variety of different winners on any given day. It's really great.
 
V

Vamos Rafa Nadal

Guest
What a match and tournament from Raducanu. I get the feeling she isn’t another WTA flash in the pan. She’s got everything it takes to be a star. Huge game, big smile, everything.

A little disappointed that Leylah didn’t win because she beat the better players overall, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

Big time congrats to Emma though. She played amazing the entire tournament, qualies included.
One of the reasons I felt that Emma was going to win in two sets was precisely that Leylah had so many tough matches with top ten players all in a row. No matter how old a player is that does have an impact this late in the tournament.
 

mightyjeditribble

Hall of Fame
What are the rules for WTA finals participation? Is there a spot for a player who has won a GS title but doesn't finish top 8?

Of course, it's not impossible that Emma could still make the YE top 8 if she takes this form forward ...
 

tennis4me

Hall of Fame
Emma's future income is all set. She's currently managed by the famed IMG's Max Eisenbud who used to manage Sharapova and Li Na.

Marketing's dream.
 

THUNDERVOLLEY

G.O.A.T.
Fernandez brought nothing to this final. Well, so much for the "she's the next __________ in tennis!" hype-drunk posts over the past two weeks.

In any case, time for the updated list of majors winners (not named Serena) since 2010:

Schiavone: FO - 2010
Clijsters: USO 2010 & AO 2011
Li Na: FO 2011 & AO 2014
Kvitova: Wimbledon 2011 & 2014
Stosur: USO 2011
Sharapova: FO 2012 & FO 2014
Azarenka: AO 2012 & 2013
Bartoli: Wimbledon 2013
Pennetta: USO 2015
Kerber: AO 2016, USO 2016 & Wimbledon 2018
Muguruza: FO 2016 & Wimbledon 2017
Ostapenko: FO 2017
Stephens: USO 2017
Wozniacki: AO 2018
Osaka: USO 2018, 2020 & AO 2019 and 2021
Barty: FO 2019 & Wimbledon 2021
Halep: FO 2018 & Wimbledon 2019
Andreescu: 2019 USO
Kenin: AO 2020
Krejčíková: FO 2021
Raducanu: USO 2021

The WTA rolls on with strength, and everyone with a take-no-prisoners mindset.
 

-NN-

G.O.A.T.
Fernandez brought nothing to this final. Well, so much for the "she's the next __________ in tennis!" hype-drunk posts over the past two weeks.

In any case, time for the updated list of majors winners (not named Serena) since 2010:

Schiavone: FO - 2010
Clijsters: USO 2010 & AO 2011
Li Na: FO 2011 & AO 2014
Kvitova: Wimbledon 2011 & 2014
Stosur: USO 2011
Sharapova: FO 2012 & FO 2014
Azarenka: AO 2012 & 2013
Bartoli: Wimbledon 2013
Pennetta: USO 2015
Kerber: AO 2016, USO 2016 & Wimbledon 2018
Muguruza: FO 2016 & Wimbledon 2017
Ostapenko: FO 2017
Stephens: USO 2017
Wozniacki: AO 2018
Osaka: USO 2018, 2020 & AO 2019 and 2021
Barty: FO 2019 & Wimbledon 2021
Halep: FO 2018 & Wimbledon 2019
Andreescu: 2019 USO
Kenin: AO 2020
Krejčíková: FO 2021
Raducanu: USO 2021

The WTA rolls on with strength, and everyone with a take-no-prisoners mindset.

The best sports tour in the world.


WoW
 
What are the rules for WTA finals participation? Is there a spot for a player who has won a GS title but doesn't finish top 8?

Of course, it's not impossible that Emma could still make the YE top 8 if she takes this form forward ...

Up to the WTA to give Wildcard to GS winner that didn't finish in top 8. They did not give to Sloane in 2017.
 

capeman

New User
I think Fernandez may not have seen the blood trickling down Emma's leg. Maybe I'm reaching. That was a legit MTO. I think once she sees the replay, she'll have a different outlook on it.
Well, during the medical time out, you could read she was arguing with the official saying "she could just wipe it off..."
 

mightyrick

Legend
Who's the last time didn't lose a set? Serena?

It's a good question, I wonder. Someone in this thread commented they didn't think Raducanu was a flash in the pan. I'd say that was very obvious. Anybody who wins a slam without losing a set -- especially coming through qualies -- especially at her age... I'd say there's no way to overhype her. That feat is not a fluke and it demands respect.

Raducanu is already a clear superstar.
 
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