Teen tennis sensation Emma Raducanu has been voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
The teenager ended Britain’s 44-year wait for a women’s Grand Slam singles champion when she won the US Open this summer.
In a public vote, Olympic stars Adam Peaty and Tom Daley were second and third respectively
The teenager who has a Romanian father and Chinese mother shot to stardom by winning the US Open title this season. She was the first qualifier in tennis history to accomplish such a feat. Even more amazingly, she did it without even dropping a set.
Her stunning win followed a run to the Wimbledon fourth round in July on her Grand Slam main draw debut.
„It’s such an honor just to be among these nominees. Congrats to you and all your achievements,” Raducanu said on Sunday. She has tested positive for Covid and is currently isolating in the UAE.
„I’m happy for British tennis as well, and that we’ve managed to get this award…again!”
Now 19 and ranked British number one, Raducanu becomes the first female tennis player to be crowned Sports Personality of the Year since Virginia Wade in 1977 – the last British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title.
She is the first woman to win the award since Zara Phillips, granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II in 2006.
