CLTA head coach Romen Singh remembers the sunny afternoon of January 6, 2018, when a 15-year-old Emma Raducanu of Great Britain had received the ladies’ title with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Ukraine’s Diana Khodan within the last of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Grade -3 Tennis Tournament performed at Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA) Stadium right here. On Sunday early morning, because the 18-year-old from Great Britain turned the primary participant in males’s or girls’s tennis to win a grand slam as a qualifier with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Canada’s Leylah Fernandez within the US Open girls’s last at New York, Singh was remembering the day Raducanu had received the junior title in Chandigarh and the way her mom Renne would cheer her from the stands– with Singh calling different CLTA trainees to observe Raducanu play.
“When Emma Raducanu won the ITF Grade-3 title here in Chandigarh, I remember how her mother Renne would sit for hours at the stands at the CLTA Stadium and cheer for her. She was very consistent and accurate for a 15-year-old at that time and the thing which I was impressed with was her self motivation and the confidence she displayed on the court. They stayed for a week here at Chandigarh and she liked Indian dishes at the CLTA Stadium apart from interacting with the junior trainees. To see her win the US Open last night would be a great memory for all of us, who watched her win at Chandigarh in 2018,” remembered Singh.
Raducanu, who was born in Canada to Ian and Renne, along with her father Ian being of Romanian origin and mom Renne of Chinese origin, moved to England along with her mother and father on the age of two years and began enjoying tennis on the age of 5 years. She would later prepare beneath coach Nigel Sears. The teenager had received a complete of 4 junior ITF titles in 2018, with the primary worldwide title of the 12 months coming within the type of the Chandigarh occasion. The identical 12 months, Raducanu would win the ladies’ title within the ITF Juniors Grade 2 occasion at New Delhi other than profitable two extra ITF Junior titles internationally.
In 2019, she additionally received an ITF $25000 occasion at Pune and the teenager’s US Open title win on Sunday morning additionally noticed her turning into the primary British lady since Virginia Wade in 1977 to win a slam singles titles and first brutish lady since Wade in 1968 to win the US Open. Coach and chair umpire Deepak Yadav, who officiated within the ITF Junior Grade-3 last at Chandigarh, remembers Raducanu as a disciplined teenager. “It was winters and in contrast to different gamers, Emma Raducanu would be sure that she reached CLTA hours earlier than the match and would apply at one of many apply courts. I keep in mind she defeated Chandigarh woman Prinkle Singh6-3, 6-1 within the first spherical and all her 5 wins within the match have been in straight units. On the courtroom, she was a disciplined participant and would by no means present aggression in the direction of match officers or present her anger.
She made positive that she thanked all of the officers after her match earlier than leaving and we hope she is going to win many extra grand slams in her profession in future,” remembers Yadav.
12-year-old Aarav Bishnoi, a scholar of DAV Public School, Sector 8 had additionally met Raducanu together with elder brother Arnav Bishnoi after the ultimate of the Chandigarh occasion in 2018. The then nine-year-old, whose father Mahavir Prasad, works in a personal agency in Chandigarh, had sought Raducanu’s autograph and an image alongside along with her and was busy displaying his mates the image after her US Open title triumph. “My father had taken me and my brother to watch the tournament and seeing players like Raducanu helps our game too. After she won, I requested her to sign an autograph for me and pose for a picture in the CLTA lobby and the picture is a prized possession. She is also good at her studies and it motivates us to balance both in our career too,” says an elated Aarav.
