EMMA RADUCANU will become the tenth youngest Grand Slam champion in history with victory in the US Open final on Saturday.
If she wins, the British teenager will pick up her first major title aged 18 years and 302 days – achieving the feat sooner than several greats.
Roger Federer, for example, was 21 when he won the first of his 20 Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon in 2003.
Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, was 20 when he first tasted major success at the Australian Open in 2008.
Here, SunSport countdown the ten youngest Grand Slam Singles winners in history – starting with the man Raducanu can knock out of the top ten.
RAFAEL NADAL – 19 YEARS AND 3 DAYS
NADAL is known as the ‘King of Clay’ for his THIRTEEN French Open titles – and his love affair with the competition began in 2005.
The Spaniard stunned favourite Federer with a four-set victory in the last four before defeating Argentine Mariano Puerta in the final.
Nadal went on to dominate the sport and perhaps could have won even more titles if it wasn’t for a series of knee injuries.
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BJORN BORG – 18 YEARS AND 10 DAYS
WITH 11 Grand Slam titles, Borg is undoubtedly one of the greatest male tennis players to ever grace the court.
The Swede picked up his first major title at the French Open in 1974, defeating Spaniard Manuel Orantes in a five-set thriller.
Although he failed to win the Australia Open and US Open, his five Wimbledon crowns ensure he’ll always be remembered.
MATS WILANDER – 17 YEARS AND 293 DAYS
WILANDER burst on to the tennis scene in 1982 when he, like Nadal and Borg, won the French Open as a teenager.
The unseeded Swede produced an outstanding display to defeat No3 seed Guillermo Vilas and win the first of his seven major titles.
The only Singles title that evaded Wilander was Wimbledon, although he did win the Men’s Doubles title at SW19 in 1986.
BORIS BECKER – 17 YEARS and 228 DAYS
BECKER made history when he defeated American Kevin Curren at Wimbledon in 1985 to become SW19’s first German champ.
He also became the youngest ever male Grand Slam winner and the first unseeded player to win a Wimbledon Singles title.
Becker went on to win two more Wimbledon crowns – appearing in seven finals – and six major titles in total.
ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO – 17 YEARS AND 174 DAYS
SANCHEZ VICARIO shocked the tennis world when she defeated No1 seed and Wimbledon champ Steffi Graf to win the French Open in 1989.
The Spaniard went on to win four Grand Slam titles – an impressive haul considering the dominance of Graf throughout that era.
Sanchez Vicario appeared in 12 major Singles finals in total, suffering five of her eight defeats to Graf in her pursuit of 22 Grand Slams.
MICHAEL CHANG – 17 YEARS AND 109 DAYS
CHANG is the youngest man in history to win a Grand Slam, beating Wimbledon champ Stefan Edberg at the French Open in 1989.
But his most famous win came earlier in that tournament against Ivan Lendl, upsetting the World No1 in a five-set thriller.
Chang never managed to win another major title – despite appearing in another three finals – but remains a legend of the sport.
MARIA SHARAPOVA -17 YEARS AND 75 DAYS
SHARAPOVA secured a sensational victory at Wimbledon in 2004 when she defeated the great Serena Williams in straight sets in the final.
The Russian never managed to win another SW19 crown but did win four more major titles and completed the career Grand Slam.
Sharapova retired from professional tennis in February 2020 having won more than $38MILLION in prize money during her illustrious career.
TRACY AUSTIN – 16 YEARS AND 270 DAYS
AUSTIN defeated World No1 Chris Evert to become the US Open’s youngest champ with a stunning straight sets victory in 1979.
The American went on to repeat the feat two years later against Martina Navratilova but didn’t appear again in a Grand slam final.
Austin’s career was halted after a serious automobile accident in 1989 and she later became the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s youngest inductee.
MONICA SELES – 16 YEARS AND 189 DAYS
SELES became the youngest French Open winner in history by defeating Graf in 1990 and quickly became tennis’ new star.
She went on to become a ten-time Grand Slam champ and perhaps would have achieved a lot more if she wasn’t the victim of a horrific attack.
Seles was stabbed ON COURT by an obsessed Graf fanatic – determined to end her career – and missed two years of action as a result.
MARTINA HINGIS – 16 YEARS AND 177 DAYS
HINGIS became the youngest person ever to win a Grand Slam Singles title when she got the better of Mary Pierce at the Australian Open in 1997.
The Swiss star went on to appear in 12 major finals, winning five of them, as she struggled to knock Serena and Venus Williams off their perch.
Incidentally, Raducanu’s final with Leylah Fernandez is the first all-teenage final since Hingis lost to Serena Williams at the US Open in 1999.
How to watch Emma Raducanu take on Leylah Fernandez in the US Open final
