Incredible footage of US Open champ Emma Raducanu playing Indian Wells winner Paula Badosa

Emma Raducanu

They were two stars destined to reach the top of the game in double-quick time, but that may not have been obvious as Emma Raducanu took on Paula Badosa at a Futures tournament in Bolton two years ago.

Raducanu’s stunning US Open win last month rocketed the British teenager to sporting superstardom, as she leapt up the tennis rankings in double quick time.

Now Badosa has confirmed she is a tennis superstar in her own right with her thrilling win against Victoria Azarenka in last Sunday’s BNP Paribas Open final in Indian Wells.

That win propelled 23-year-old Badosa to No 13 in the new WTA Rankings, with 18-year-old Raducanu currently sitting at No 24 after her second-round exit at Indian Wells.

 

What this Twitter club journalist Abigail Johnson confirms is Raducanu and Badosa were playing an incredibly high level in the junior ranks, with this rivalry set to be continued in some of the game’s biggest events over the next decade.

Latest