Once upon a time a girl named Emma was born in a faraway land, called Canada, to faraway parents, Chinese mother, Romanian Father, both finance people. When Emma was two, the family moved to England, land of familiarity and royalty. When Emma was five, she was introduced to tennis and was rather good. Encouraged by her parents to have a positive mental attitude, Emma grew up to be sweet and kind, showing potential that she could make a career out of tennis. When Emma was 17, a virus happened in the land and in every land and there was a lockdown and Emma concentrated on getting A Levels and got them in Economics and Mathematics. When lockdown was eased, Emma resumed her tennis getting a wild card for a big competition covered by the BBC (British Broadcast Corporation) called Wimbledon which requires all participants to wear white but white wasn’t Emma’s colour, red is, and Emma became off-colour, that is sick, and retired, whereupon a commentator called John remarked she wasn’t up to it. A flash in the pan and British tennis had seem many of those in the women’s game since Virginia won Wimbledon in the queen’s jubilee year way back. After Wimbledon, Emma hired a coach called Andrew who’d coached her when she was 10 or 12. Together, they worked on improving Emma’s tennis sufficiently to qualify Emma for the qualifiers of the biggest professional event of the calendar, the US Open (Sorry Wimbledon). Qualify she did, playing three qualifying matches in the qualifiers, which she won, winning them all in straight sets, a pattern she’d amazingly repeat in the main competition, winning seven matches there, all in straight sets, trashing all her opponents, all of them far more experienced than Emma. The commentator called John spoke of her remarkable ability to very quickly adapt and work out tactics in the moment. Often she’d lose the first game or two and then win eight or ten in a row. Her illness at Wimbledon not a mental breakdown, John conceded, but a stepping stone to learn what it takes and to follow through with what it takes. Emma kept smiling and won the thing: Women’s US Open Champion. $2.5m. 10 Matches: 10 Wins, 10 Straight Sets, The first even qualifier to win a Major tennis tournament. On the Monday after, she went sightseeing in New York as you do when in New York and she saw an enormous billboard of herself. She was one of the sights. She also received a congratulatory message from the Queen of England
Arise Dame Emma Raducanu! I hope not. Emma is beyond royalty. Emma is Emma; Dame not needed. Emma represents something ungraspable. She has soared beyond hype; she’s achieved her dream before the mass tabloids knew she was dreaming. That’s a rarity indeed. She’s highly articulate and accessible. She can converse in Mandarin and Romanian, the language of her grandparents. Emma is a connector. After her matches she delighted in allowing the spectators to take selfies with her.
The ungraspable quality Emma showed was wonder. There’s a sense of Wow in her attitude. Wow, I’ve thrashed everyone. Wow, this trophy is really heavy as well as sparkly. Wow, I’m sightseeing in New York and I’m seeing me..
Emma’s story is a fairytale. Perhaps she’ll be a one hit wonder, but that’s still one wonder, for this moment: The Fairytale of New York.
