Emma Raducanu is one match away from winning the US Open after making history as the first qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final.
Raducanu, 18, earned a place in the record books by defeating 17th-seeded Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-4 in straight sets during a stunning semi-finalon Thursday night.
Now the British tennis sensation, ranked 150th in the world, will face Canadian rival, Leylah Fernandez, 19, in the fight for the title at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday.
Image: Raducanu hits a forehand on day 11 of the 2021 U.S. Open
It will be the first major final between two teens since the 1999 US Open, which saw Serena Williams, 17, thrash 18-year-old Martina Hingis.
Here’s 10 reasons why Raducanu can claim victory in tonight’s match.
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The Duchess of Cambridge has wished the teenage British tennis ace the ‘best of luck’ ahead of the US Open final
She hasn’t dropped a single set
Raducanu became the first player this century to make the second week of her first two Grand Slam main draw appearances.
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Over nine matches, including three qualifying games, to reach the main draw, Raducanu has yet to concede a single set at Flushing Meadows.
Meanwhile, Fernandez has been forced to play three sets in her last four matches.
Image: Both Leylah Fernandez and Emma Raducanu have never reached a Grand Slam final before
No pressure
Both Raducanu and Fernandez are unseeded at the US Open, and appear unflustered by better-known and more successful challengers.
But when asked about expectation to win the final, Raducanu joked: “I’m a qualifier so there’s no pressure on me!”
Image: Emma Raducanu joked: “I’m a qualifier so there’s no pressure on me!” ahead of the US Open final.
“Fearless” youth
Raducanu is the youngest Slam finalist since Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon, aged 17, in 2004.
Sakkari, 26, said of both US Open finalists: “They are both young. They play fearless.
“They have nothing to lose playing against us.”
And Raducanu agrees: “Being young, there is an element of you do play completely free.”
Evenly matched
Neither has reached a Grand Slam final, meaning it will be an equally new experience for both.
Fernandez’s best past performance at a Slam was reaching the third round at Roland Garros last year.
Image: Fernandez’s best performance was reaching the third round of Roland Garros last year
Previous victory
Both women first met when they were playing in under-12 tournaments – before clashing in the Wimbledon junior tournament’s second round in 2018.
Raducanu won three years ago – with fans believing she can do the same again when they share a court for the first time in a tour-level match, albeit with much more at stake.
Stamina
Raducanu has already proved she is fresher than Fernandez.
Despite playing nine games compared to her opponent’s six, the Brit has spent less time on court – beating all of her competitors in less time than the Canadian’s shortest win, one hour and 45 minutes, over Croatian Ana Konjuh in the opening round.
Image: Raducanu shakes hands with Sakkari after their match
Raducanu obliterated Sakkari, a highly experienced rival, in 84 minutes in what has been hailed a “gladiatorial” performance.
Star quality
Virginia Wade, the last British woman to reach this stage of the US Open 53 years ago, is in no doubt of Raducanu’s talent.
“She is a star, no question,” Wade told Sky News.
“I think that she’s one of the people who looks good young and will always be one of the top contenders.”
Pride of Britain
Raducanu, the youngest British major finalist in 62 years, can count on the nation’s support, with Kate Middleton, Boris Johnson, Liam Gallagher and Marcus Rashford congratulating the teen on her semi-final win.
The Duchess of Cambridge praised Raducanu’s “incredible achievement”, tweeting: “We will all be rooting for you.”
Image: Emma Raducanu in her debut in British Vogue magazine Pic: Scott Trindle
Self-belief
Raducanu told Sky News how she was “feeling good” when she arrived for a practice session ahead of the US Open final on Friday.
But despite her extraordinary achievements, Raducanu remains extremely humble.
Speaking on court after her win, she said: “I knew I had some sort of level inside of me that was similar to these girls, but I didn’t know if I was able to maintain it over a set or over two sets.
“To be able to do it and play the best players in the world and beat them, I honestly can’t believe it.”
And she has credited her “amazing” team in New York for her incredible success.
Image: The teen’s success on the court has earned her a spread in Vogue magazine. Pic: Scott Trindle
Fame and fortune
Before reaching the US Open, Raducanu’s career winnings totalled around £219,591.
But her place in the final has guaranteed her a runners up prize of at least £900,000 – while winning the title would earn her £1.8m.
Now she is on course to eclipse the popularity of many fellow sports stars, with some tipping her to be as “famous and well-known as Rihanna” – while her success has already earned her a feature in British Vogue.
Now is the moment of “maximum danger” for Sir Keir Starmer, Harriet Harman has warned.
The Labour peer told Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast “everyone really wants Keir Starmer to succeed” after Greater Manchester’s Labour mayor, Andy Burnham, said Labour MPs have been urging him to challenge Sir Keir’s premiership.
Baroness Harman, who was a Labour MP for 42 years, said this was always “going to be the most difficult time” because people are “fed up” with hearing it is the Tories’ fault, “yet they’re not feeling better off”.
“So this was always going to be the moment of maximum danger,” she said.
“But I think that what people want is for Keir Starmer to succeed. And they don’t want, I think at this point, the turbulence of a leadership challenge.”
She said Mr Burnham, who was in Gordon Brown’s cabinet with her, is “not hiding his light under a bushel in any way, shape or form”.
But added: “I do not want the drama and chaos of a leadership election.
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“It’s like ‘this guy hasn’t done it, so we’re going to try somebody else’. You know, everybody really wants Keir Starmer to succeed.”
Fans will see a series of changes to Ticketmaster sales practices after an investigation into Oasis concert prices.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has secured a number of commitments from Ticketmaster after its investigation found it did not offer fans enough clarity on pricing.
It identified that Ticketmaster did not tell Oasis fans waiting in lengthy queues that standing tickets were being sold at two different prices – and that prices would jump as soon as the cheap tickets sold out.
It also said Ticketmaster sold some “platinum” tickets at almost 2.5 times the price of ‘standard’ tickets – without sufficiently explaining that they offered no additional benefits over some ‘standard’ tickets in the same areas of the venue.
Ticketmaster will now be required to:
Tell fans 24 hours in advance if a tiered pricing system is being used. This means fans will know beforehand if there are multiple prices for the same type of ticket, and that more expensive ones will be released once the cheapest sell out;
Provide more information about ticket prices during online queues, helping fans anticipate how much they might have to pay;
Give additional information to help fans make the best decisions, and give more information about the prices of tickets sold using tiered pricing;
Not use any misleading ticket labels, giving the impression that one ticket is better than another when that is not the case;
Provide regular reports to the CMA on how it has implemented the changes over the next two years to ensure robust compliance.
Failure to implement these measures could result in enforcement action.
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Separate to the CMA report, Ticketmaster have now also stopped using “platinum” labels in the UK.
The CMA said it hopes the measures will send a “clear message” to other ticketing websites, adding: “If Ticketmaster fails to deliver on these changes, we won’t hesitate to take further action.”
“Fans who spend their hard-earned money to see artists they love deserve to see clear, accurate information, upfront,” said CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell.
“We can’t ensure every fan gets a ticket for events as popular as the Oasis tour, but we can help ensure that next time an event like this comes along, fans have the information they need, when they need it.”
Responding to the findings, Ticketmaster said: “We welcome the CMA’s confirmation there was no dynamic pricing, no unfair practices and that we did not breach consumer law.
“To further improve the customer experience, we’ve voluntarily committed to clearer communication about ticket prices in queues. This builds on our capped resale, strong bot protection, and clear pricing displays, and we encourage the CMA to hold the entire industry to these same standards.”
The watchdog launched its investigation following widespread complaints about the sale that saw over 900,000 tickets purchased through the site.
The CMA had made it clear, in an update in March, that it was seeking a series of remedies that were yet to be agreed.
It explained then that Ticketmaster labelled certain seated tickets as “platinum” and sold them for nearly two-and-a-half times the price of equivalent standard tickets, without explaining why they were more expensive.
It found that it “risked giving consumers the misleading impression that platinum tickets were better”.
The regulator also concluded that Ticketmaster did not inform fans that there were two categories of standing tickets at different prices, but it said there was no evidence that dynamic pricing – a form of surge pricing where costs can rise depending on levels of demand – was used.
The UK leg of the Oasis tour will end at Wembley Stadium this coming weekend.
A major test of the CMA’s agreement with Ticketmaster could come soon, however, as it is widely believed that Oasis plan to return to Knebworth House in Hertfordshire next year for a gig to mark the 30th anniversary of their celebrated 1996 concert.
A US vaccine firm has opened the first mRNA manufacturing plant in the UK, against a backdrop of increasing anti-jab rhetoric back home.
The new facility outside Oxford is part of a £1bn investment in the UK by Moderna, which specialises in mRNA.
The novel vaccine technology delivered some of the most effective and fastest-to-develop jabs during the COVID pandemic.
Several pharma companies, including Germany’s leading mRNA pioneer BioNTech, are now racing to develop new therapies.
Moderna says the plant will produce up to 100 million doses of its existing vaccine products each year. It has also been designed to scale-up production to 250 million doses a year in the event of a new disease outbreak.
“God-forbid, if there is another pandemic, we can switch the facility any day,” said Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel.
The UK investment deal was agreed by the previous government, but the plant’s opening is welcome relief for the current one.
It also promises to restore domestic vaccine manufacturing capability in the UK, the lack of which was exposed when dangerous supply interruptions threatened the early COVID response.
“It’s a really fast way of getting new vaccines discovered,” said Lord Patrick Vallance, former chief scientist and now science minister.
“It’s also a great statement of confidence in the UK that [Moderna has] chosen to base themselves here.”
Image: Health Secretary Wes Streeting attended the opening
Moderna: UK ‘still believes’ in vaccines
The mRNA molecule is the same used by our cells to order the production of new proteins, and allows vaccines to be produced using just the genetic code of a virus or other biological target.
Moderna’s investment decision pre-dated Donald Trump’s return to the White House, but the Moderna CEO said its operation in the UK – a country that “still believes in vaccination” – may pay dividends if anti-vaccine rhetoric translates into a lack of demand for its products in the US.
“If there is less appetite by governments around the world, including in the US, to use vaccines, we might invest less in vaccines,” said Mr Bancel.
“We have to invest where there’s a demand for our products.”
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The UK presents other attractions for the company which has suffered substantial losses as demand for its COVID vaccine has fallen.
It’s betting that leading UK universities and a large patient population will make for successful clinical trials.
The company has ongoing NHS trials of new jabs against seasonal flu, a combination COVID and flu vaccine, cancer vaccines and mRNA therapies for two inherited childhood diseases.
Moderna says it is now the largest private commercial sponsor of clinical trials in the UK.