The prediction Andy Murray made about Emma Raducanu right before she won the 2021 US Open title.

Emma Raducanu’s 2021 US Open title remains one of the sport’s most unlikely triumphs of all time.

A teenager who had competed in just one Grand Slam main draw before heading to New York, there was little expectation for the Brit as she headed into the qualifiers.

However, once she emerged through that period unscathed, momentum built.

As Raducanu kept winning, the fanfare grew, continuing until she somehow made her way into the final.

There, she beat Leylah Fernandez to complete the fairytale run, thus propelling her from a relative unknown into one of the most famous sportswomen on the planet.

Ironically, Andy Murray had made a prediction about his compatriot right before the US Open, which was instantly proven correct.

Andy Murray’s 2021 Emma Raducanu prediction proven instantly right
For the Scotsman though, even he could not have foreseen such an unlikely story.

It was one of tennis’ most impossible runs, and as such captivated the sport and beyond overnight.

However, there had been form to suggest a strong performance in New York was brewing, with Emma Raducanu having reached the fourth round of Wimbledon earlier that summer.

Speaking after that, Murray admitted: “Lots of people in British tennis have obviously got very high hopes for her.

“I’ve seen her around training and I’ve hit with her myself. I have a lot of belief in her game and her potential. Mentally, I think she is in a very good place.

“I think she’s really switched on and is really into her tennis.”

He then made a timid prediction that was instantly proven true as she won the title and rose to 23rd in the world: “She’s certainly heading in the right direction and she will certainly continue to move up the rankings.”

The awkward time Emma Raducanu snubbed Andy Murray at Wimbledon
Given how positively Murray spoke about Raducanu in 2021, it is sad to see how things transpired.

After all, the 23-year-old clearly thought highly of this young British talent, so much so that he even invited her to play alongside him in the Wimbledon mixed doubles last year.

Seeking to squeeze as much tennis as he could into his final year on the circuit, this coincided with a career-best run from Raducanu in the singles draw.

And so, despite the legendary offer, Raducanu withdrew from playing with Murray at Wimbledon, thus cementing his retirement at the All-England Club.

The backlash she received from this was unsurprisingly overwhelming, even if Murray eventually claimed: “We exchanged multiple messages since Wimbledon, and things were fine after we cleared everything up.

“It was obviously a pretty emotional time for me and everyone around me, so it was hard but, like I said, I was really happy with the way that my career finished. I got to play my last match at Wimbledon with my brother.”

Raducanu apologised publicly, but for some, that was not enough.