US Open: Raducanu becomes first British woman in 44 years to win Grand Slam title

Emma Raducanu has become the first British woman in 44 years to win a Grand Slam singles title after winning the US Open final.

She achieved the feat after defeating Leylah Fernandez in straight sets at the Arthur Ashe stadium in New York on Saturday.

In the battle of teenagers, it was Raducanu, the British tennis prodigy who came out on top, overcoming her Canadian opponent 6-4 6-3 to claim the trophy in an entertaining final.

The final was also the first-ever between two unseeded players since the Open era started in 1968.

Raducanu is not only the first qualifier to reach a major final but also set the record of the first to win it.

At 18 years, Raducanu is the youngest Grand Slam winner since Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon Open in 2004.

The youngster who burst onto the scene at the Wimbledon Open in July also secured the title without dropping a set in all ten matches she played in New York.

Fernandez, on the other hand, defeated three top ten players on the road to the final including Naomi Osaka, the defending champion, before succumbing to the superior Raducanu who came through three rounds of qualifiers to play at the tournament.

In the thrilling encounter, both Raducanu and Fernandes broke in the first four games of a pulsating first set.

Raducanu, however, got the crucial break in the tenth game, holding three match points before securing a 6-4 first set win in an hour.

Fernandez threatened by breaking Raducanu early in the second set but the Briton showed grit and elegance with exquisite shots that saw her recover, break twice and take a commanding 5-2 lead.

Despite a bleeding knee that required medical attention in the ninth game, the British qualifier sealed out the title with an ace for her first-ever tennis title.

Ranked 150th in the world coming into this tournament, Raducanu is the 10th teenager to become a US Open champion.