Emma Raducanu has revealed her pick for the greatest tennis player of all time debate – an opinion shared by 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.
Raducanu is gearing up for a return to Flushing Meadows – the site of her first and only Grand Slam title.
The then 18-year-old captured the imagination of the tennis world when she stormed to victory in 2021, becoming the first British woman since Virginia Wade at the 1977 Wimbledon Championships to win a singles title.
While she might’ve failed to live up to the lofty expectations she set herself three years ago, Raducanu did post her best Grand Slam performance since the 2021 US Open at Wimbledon last month.
Reaching the fourth round of the Championships for the first time, the former British No.1 has looked back to her best at times this year and will want to make a statement with a strong performance in New York City.
And ahead of the Slam, she sat down with Sky Sports for a Q&A, during which she disclosed who she believes wins the GOAT tennis debate.
The 21-year-old said: “In my opinion, the tennis GOAT is Novak Djokovic for pure repeatable quality. But I think my favourite to watch is Roger Federer.”
It’s an opinion the third member of the GOAT debate, Nadal, agrees with.
Speaking to El Pais earlier this year, Nadal commented: “Since I have a memory of tennis, Federer is the player who has impressed me the most, the one who has entertained me the most, the one who has moved me the most.
“Watching Federer play has moved me more than Djokovic, and in the end, tennis is about emotion; it’s the emotion that draws you to it.”
Unlike Nadal, Djokovic will get a chance to add to his already illustrious Slams return this year, with the Serb among the top-ranked players for the upcoming US Open.
Djokovic, who enters the competition as the second seed, has been drawn up against Romanian Radu Albot, with either Jan-Lennard Struff or compatriot Laslo Djere to play the winner in round two.
It’s been a favourable draw for the Olympic champion, with the highest-ranked player in his side world No.13 Ben Shelton, who Djokovic won’t have to face – should he progress that far – until the fourth round anyway.
Action in New York City gets underway on Monday, 26 August, with the final set to be held on Sunday, 8 September.
