Emma Raducanu struggled to contain her emotions as she met one of her biggest fans at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre in London.
Raducanu’s 2021 US Open win was a moment of huge inspiration for young girls around the world, with the legacy of her victory continuing to reverberate almost four years later.
The story of Raducanu becoming the first player to come through qualifying and win a Grand Slam title is one of the great fairy tales of modern sport and after young Joanie Melady spoke about her admiration for Emma during a BBC interview two years ago, the governing body for tennis in Britain set up a very special moment for the tennis loving youngster.
Joanie captured hearts across the UK when she appeared on BBC Breakfast after winning a tournament while playing with a prosthetic arm.
In that interview, she spoke about her love for Raducanu and shortly before she played at the brand new WTA 500 tournament at the Queen’s Club, Joanie’s dream came true as she got a chance to hit some balls with her idol.
Joanie didn’t have to wait long to see Raducanu after she was greeted by Lee Myers, Tennis Operations Manager at the National Tennis Centre.
Raducanu was practising on the indoor courts and Joanie was excited to see her hitting balls with her coaching team.
Her day then got even better as she was joined on court by Raducanu, who was clearly touched by her meeting with Joanie.
“To be able to get on court with Joanie and just feel that genuine love for the game and love for playing tennis is really precious,” said Raducanu.
“From her perspective, she’s going after what she wants to do. If she wants to play tennis, she’s going to do it no matter how. I could learn from that from Joanie.
“Her confidence is incredible. It’s something I struggle with and to push through like she is is inspiring.”
Raducanu then showed some real emotions as she revealed how touched she was by her experience of meeting Joanie.