Well done, but…

British teenager Emma Raducanu, the new US Open champion, and Canadian Leylah Fernandez, who lost the final to her, at Flushing Meadows last week, herald a new beginning to women tennis. Both teens are a huge inspiration to would be tennis players.

What stood out this final was the way the two made it to the final. Raducanu moved from the qualifying stage to a champion, while Canadian left-hander Fernandez knocked out three top-five players and multiple Major champions en route to her epic final.

Fernandez defeated Japan’s Naomi Osaka, the third seed, in the round of 32, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, the fifth seed, in the quarter-finals before showing second-ranked Belarusian Aryna the door.

The unheralded winners will now be under the bright spotlight of attention. Osaka is a famous case in question on what happens to players who buckle under the pressure of expectations. The new stars should not be oblivious of this reality.

Sunita Menon —By email