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Gatekeeper

Brigadier
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The British sporting news is absolutely going apes about the success of the sensational young British qualifier. And claiming her as one of their own.

But let's take a minute and have a closer look. With a name like Raducanu you can bet she is ethnic identity somewhere.

Here's the info from wiki. (I know, but it's all I got).

Raducanu was born on 13 November 2002 in
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, Canada, to Ian and Renee, who originate from
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, Romania, and
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, China, respectively.
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She attributed her mentality and ethics to her tennis idols
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and
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, both from countries of her ancestry.
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Both of her parents work in the finance sector.
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Her family moved to England when she was two years old.

So the success of this "British" teenage sensation is actually Canadian born to a Romanian father, and a Chinese mother. With her tennis idol being a Romanian in the form of Simona Halep and Chinese in the form of Li Na. Lol
 

Gatekeeper

Brigadier
Registered Member
Oh well, if the British are trying to claim her as one of their own. I supposed the Chinese Canadian community are entitled to do so as well. Well done, our Emma for winning her first major.

From Chinese north America network:

Chinese Canadian Emma Raducanu who was born in Toronto, Canada to a Chinese Canadian Mother and Romanian Canadian Father will compete in the upcoming US Open Finals against fellow Asian Canadian(Filipino/Ecuador heritage) tennis phenom Leylah Fernandez. Although Emma Raducanu moved from Canada to England at age 2 and now represents the UK, it is still nice to see an all-Canadian US Open Final ! And also technically a historically all-Asian US Open Final !!

FB_IMG_1631402752003.jpg
 

Gatekeeper

Brigadier
Registered Member

So if the British and Canadians are trying to claim her, why can't the Chinese? Lol​


From the telegraph:

Mother's Chinese heritage gave me self-belief, says Emma Raducanu​

The Toronto-born teenager has a Romanian father and Chinese mother who came to Britain when she was just two

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SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and
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12 September 2021 • 9:59am
She may be the UK’s newest sporting sweetheart, holding the future of British women’s tennis in the palm of her service hand, but
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has credited her Chinese and Romanian parentage with much of her drive and determination.

The family biography of the Toronto-born teenager with a Romanian father and Chinese mother who came to Britain when she was just two is now becoming increasingly familiar to the British public.

Less well known is the fact that until the Covid pandemic she travelled regularly to her mother’s home city of Shenyang, in northeast China, to visit relatives and train at a local sports institute away from the growing limelight in Britain.

Here, at the Shenyang Institute of Physical Education, she not only practised the strokes and court play that propelled her to Saturday’s final of the US Open, but also played table tennis with professional players in order to improve her reactions.

And while other aspiring British schoolgirls may have looked up to the likes of Virginia Wade, Laura Robson, Heather Watson and Johanna Konta,
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took inspiration from China’s tennis idol, the former world number two
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"Even though Li Na has retired, I've watched lots of her matches on YouTube, because she was really aggressive," Raducanu said in July. "Her movement was what impressed me the most. She was so agile and quick-and very powerful. She wouldn't miss an opportunity to be aggressive."

Raducanu’s mother, Dong Mei Zhai, who is now known as Renee, grew up in Shenyang before moving to Toronto. She then moved with her husband, Ian, to Bromley, southeast London, when their daughter was two.

The 18-year-old first picked up a racket aged five, and after showing early promise at the Bromley Tennis Academy, earned a scholarship from the Lawn Tennis Association, allowing her to train while continuing her school work.

She has credited her Chinese and Romanian roots with
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despite an increasingly international lifestyle on the tennis circuit.

The teenager, who can understand Chinese, but is said to still need to work on her speaking skills, says her drive and discipline are in large part thanks to her mother’s family.
 
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