Emma Raducanu said that she was “very grateful” to receive praise and support from one of the best coaches in world sport following her US Open success.
After beating 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez to secure a fairy tale first Grand Slam title, aged just 18 and as a qualifier for the tournament, the Briton has been lauded by some of the biggest names in sport.
One of those admirers was Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who said he was impressed by the fact two unseeded teenagers were able to make it to the final of such a huge tournament.
“These two girls were 18 and 19, and what they showed was massively impressive,” the German boss said last week.
“Both during the game itself, and then during the trophy ceremony. Both girls, how they spoke, at 18 or 19, that was inspiring to be honest, even more so than the tennis! I was absolutely overwhelmed by the way the two girls presented themselves.
“If you are 18 years old and you win the US Open, there is one thing that has obviously happened in the last 10-15 years – hard work.
“[Raducanu] is for sure the talent of the century, but without hard work it is not possible to be there.
“To see her there and smiling during the game, it really was the nicest thing I could imagine. I will for sure watch women’s tennis much more now than I did in the last few years.”
Asked by Sky Sports about what the Liverpool manager’s praise meant to her, Raducanu said it was “very nice to hear”.
She in particular thanked him for speaking publicly about women’s tennis, and hoped that it might help raise the profile of the sport.
” It’s very, very nice to hear and I’m very grateful,” she said.
“I think that women’s tennis at the moment is extremely strong and the game has all of the players who can win pretty much every event and I’m really grateful to Mr Jurgen Klopp for his comment.”
The pair’s public praise hinted Raducanu might be a Liverpool supporter, but she refused to say if she follows a specific club team when asked the question.
“My football team is England,” said the teen tennis sensation, who was pictured watching the national team in Euro 2020 action at Wembley earlier this summer.
