In the past month, Emma Raducanu has made tennis history, attended her first Met Gala, become the new face of Tiffany & Co, and now, she’s rubbing shoulders with royalty.
The 18-year-old met with the Duchess of Cambridge on Friday at the National Tennis Centre in London, where both women took to the court to play together.
Raducanu is the current reigning US Open champion and the first British woman in 44 years to win a Grand Slam singles title after she beat Canada’s Leylah Fernandez on 11 September.
She was also joined by US open mixed doubles and men’s doubles champion Joe Salisbury, and wheelchair players Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid for a homecoming event.
The Duchess of Cambridge, who is a patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, said she was “seriously impressed” by their victories.
“Amazing guys, honestly, congratulations to all of you - it’s seriously impressive,” she told the atheletes shortly before they took to the court.
Photographs from the event show both Raducanu and Kate in navy blue and white tennis gear, laughing and smiling at one another as they play.
In one, Kate can be seen fist pumping the air in celebration.
The duchess also shared a photograph of herself with the athletes to her Twitter account, writing that she was in the “presence of champions”.
“Congratulations on your incredible achievements in this year’s #USOpen,” she said, tagging the players. “We are all so proud of you!”
Following her win earlier this month, Raducanu has shot up 128 places in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings from 150th to 22nd place.
Speaking to the BBC last week, Raducanu said her victory is still sinking in.
“Last night I rewatched the final and tried to relive a couple of the moments and remember how it felt,” she said.
“It is sinking in a little bit more but it’s still such a whirlwind of an experience. When I’m watching it, it almost feels like it’s not me playing and pulling off some of those shots,” she added.
Raducanu was named as the newest ambassador of Tiffany & Co on 20 September.
The news comes after she was pictured in a number of items from the luxury jewellery brand during her US Open match.
She told Vogue she is “incredibly excited” to work with a brand she has “felt connected to for quite some time”.
