Where does Emma Raducanu rank in list of youngest ever female Grand Slam winners?
- Michael Graham
- 23 February 2022
Emma Raducanu is not the first teenage sensation in women's tennis - not by a long shot.
There is no doubt that Emma Raducanu is currently the princess of women's tennis after her fairytale run at the US Open last year.
Raducanu joined a very impressive list of WTA teenage Grand Slam winners that day, and a lot more is expected from her in the future.
However, where does Raducanu stand among the youngest female major winners, and will a glimpse at their careers help show just how much Raducanu can achieve in the future?
Svetlana Kuznetsova - 19 years and 76 days
Kuznetsova is probably not a name that rolls off the tongue, even for tennis fans, when considering notable players of the last 20 years, but she certainly made her mark.
The Russian ended up with two Grand Slam titles but it was her first that was the most special. She was the ninth seed in 2004 and had to go through the indomitable Lindsay Davenport in the semi-finals, but Kuznetsova battled back from losing the first set to win through into a maiden major final.
Fellow Russian Elena Dementieva was her opponent for the final, but Kuznetsova won in straight sets to become a teenage Grand Slam champion.
It was her first major title but not her last, with her adding the French Open crown in 2009.
Hana Mandlikova - 18 years and 329 days
Hana Mandlikova is something of an enigma as she won four Grand Slams, came runners-up in four more, and yet never managed to make it any higher than number three in the world rankings.
The Czech star appeared to be in a real hurry to make her presence felt on the WTA Tour. Such was her impact from a young age, she was already seeded number three when she turned up at the 1980 Australian Open.
She had to do it the hard way as well, facing an Australian in the final - Wendy Turnbull. However, Mandilkova made it look easy, delivering a bagel on the way to a straight sets win.
Three more majors followed, with her claiming the French Open in 1981, the US Open in 1985, and another Australian in 1987. She never could crack Wimbledon, though, with her defeated in the final twice.
Emma Raducanu - 18 years and 302 days
It may surprise many given how fresh faced and new she was when she won the US Open title, but Emma Raducanu is only the eighth youngest women's Grand Slam champion in history.
However, what was remarkable about Raducanu was not what she did, but how she did it.
Raducanu was the first player - male or female - to ever win a major as a qualifier. She was the world number 150 at the start of the tournament and did not drop a set during the competition.
We all watch eagerly to see what comes next.
Steffi Graf - 17 years and 357 days
If Raducanu wants some inspiration then she need look no further than Steffi Graf. No tennis player in history has spent more time on top of the world rankings than Graf, who amassed an incredible 377 weeks.
Only Serena Williams has won more majors in the Open era than Graf, whose Grand Slam-winning career stretched to a remarkable 11 years.
Before Steffi Gray was an all-time great, though, she was a precautious teen talent. Just a week before her 18th birthday, Graf was crowned the 1987 French Open champion. She even beat the legendary Martina Navratilova in the final.
That's how it's done.
Serena Williams - 17 years and 350 days
If Steffi Graf is arguably the greatest ever female player, then Serena Williams is the other side of the debate.
In terms of sheer longevity, no one can compete with the younger of the Williams sisters. Serena started winning majors in 1999 and didn't stop until 2017.
In terms of achievement, her fist Grand Slam title at the US Open in 1999 may have been her very best, though. She had to face Kim Clijsters, Conchita Martinez, Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport and, in the final, Martina Hingis to get her hands on the trophy.
Being good enough to beat any one of those players at such a young age would have been remarkable. Being good enough to beat them all was absolutely unprecedented.
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario - 17 years and 174 days
Spanish tennis players are absolutely brilliant on clay. We know this. In fact, a certain Rafael Nadal has raised the bar in terms what anyone thought was possible when it comes to dominating on the red dirt.
Before Nadal, though, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario was the Spanish power on clay, and she started as a 17-year-old.
She was the seventh seed in the draw for the 1989 French Open, so she had already made her mark on the WTA Tour. She was probably the slight favourite to beat Jana Novotna in the quarter-finals, but no one expected her to beat Steffi Graf in the final.
They were wrong, and Sanchez Vicario won it on a deciding set.
Two more French Open titles followed in 1994 and 1998, as well as the 1994 US Open crown. She was a defeated finalist twice at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, although she won both and more as a doubles competitor.
Maria Sharapova - 17 years and 75 days
It's a lot easier to remember how Maria Sharapova's career ended than how it began, but it shouldn't define her.
Before the injuries and drugs scandal, Sharapova was an absolute force on the WTA Tour and before that she was a teen sensation.
Sharapova was barely 17 years old when she won the first of her four majors, and she did it at Wimbledon, the very best place to do it.
She was the 13th seed in 2004 and that made her much more an outsider than a favourite. She was the rank outsider in the semi-final against Lindsay Davenport and a veritable underdog in the final against Serena Williams.
Sharapova was too good for both, though, and she fully earned her place in Wimbledon folklore.
Tracy Austin - 16 years and 270 days
Tracy Austin is a slight outlier on this list as a female teenage Grand Slam winner who didn't really push on. In fairness, that is more due to the quality on the list rather than anything Austin did wrong.
She also had Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova in her way, which didn't really help.
Austin was just 16 when she was the third seed at the 1979 US Open, but no one expected her to be lifting the trophy when both Navratilova and Evert landed in her path.
She beat them both, though, taking one of the unlikeliest of Grand Slam wins in history.
Austin won one more Slam in her career, the US Open again in 1981, but she never really hit the heights of other female tennis prodigies.
Monica Seles - 16 years and 189 days
Monica Seles has to be one of the most tragic stories in any sport. As a teenager, Seles was incredible. In fact, she was just about unbeatable.
She won eight majors as a teenager, which itself is mind-blowing. In fact, she was so good that a deranged Steffi Graf fan stabbed her in the back during a match, and she was understandably never the same again.
The first of those came when she was just 16, when she beat Graf in a thrilling final at the 1990 French Open.
There is a serious case to be made for Seles being the greatest teenage athlete of all time, never mind just the greatest tennis teenager in history, which is why the tragedy of the tale still resonates today nearly thirty years later.
Martina Hingis - 16 years and 117 days
Martina Hingis always looked destined for greatness, and she remains the youngest woman to ever win a Grand Slam.
In fact, she won five of them, all while she was a teenager. Injuries then hit, and she retired at the age of just 22 before making an unremarkable comeback two years later.
She won the 1997 Australian Open aged just 16 years and three months, beating Mary Pierce in the final and backed that up by winning Wimbledon that year too - becoming the youngest singles champions there for more than 100 years.
What was really remarkable about Martina Hingis, though, was that her first title at Grand Slam level actually came when she was just 15, as she won the 1996 Wimbledon doubles with Helena Sukova.
Hingis' five singles Grand Slam titles aren't enough to get her into the top ten most successful female tennis players of all time, but she was definitely a great. She just wasn't as great as she could have been.
