Emma Raducanu’s supporters cried tears of joy as they saw her win the US Open final at a viewing party hosted by her home club.
The Briton won 6-4 6-3 without dropping a set in a game intensely felt by viewers in Beckenham.
After the game, the newly crowned US Open champion thanked her supporters watching from home, which was met with rapturous cheers and applause from the crowd at Parklangley Club.
Raducanu played at Parklangley Club in Beckenham, south east London, from the age of six, and the viewing party was crammed with her friends and admirers.
The final minutes of the game were incredibly tense as her supporters at the club watched, but shouts of “Emma, Emma, Emma” and tears of joy erupted throughout the room as the 18-year-old fell to the ground in New York after sealing the win.
Suzanne Williams, Raducanu’s former strength and conditioning trainer, and Harry Bushnell, her former coach, were both extremely emotional minutes after she won.
Ms Williams said: “That was an incredible match and she had to work so hard and I am so impressed.”
Mr Bushnell added: “I said earlier on if she was going to win, she would win with straight sets, I mean it is just a joke of an achievement for her, I think it was important that she got it done in that second set.”
The former Good Morning Britain host did congratulate Emma on her success, but it wasn’t long before he was doubling down on his past comments about the star.
In July, Piers slammed the tennis champ for withdrawing from Wimbledon after suffering breathing difficulties, leading to concerns about her mental health.
He tweeted at the time: ‘McEnroe told the truth. Ms Raducuna’s a talented player but couldn’t handle the pressure & quit when she was losing badly. Not ‘brave’, just a shame. If I were her, I’d tell my fans to stop abusing McEnroe, & seek his advice on how to toughen up & become a champion like he was.’
One of Piers’ critics retweeted the comment and wrote sarcastically: ‘This aged well,’ to which the TV star replied: ‘It did, yes.’
However he replied: ‘A bad day? I’ve been totally vindicated. She took my advice and won.’
Piers later tweeted: ‘Imagine if @EmmaRaducanu had taken Twitter’s advice & carried on ‘bravely’ and ‘heroically’ quitting and losing… thank God she’s made of tougher stuff & realised that winners don’t quit & have to learn how to handle the pressure. That’s why she’s Champion today. Congrats Emma.’
