The 141st U.S. Open this year was held on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City. The tournament began on Monday, August 30, and ended on Sunday, September 12. Many unforgettable events took place, and history was made in the 2021 U.S. Open.

Jenson Brooksby, a 20-year old American tennis player from Sacramento, started the year in the Top 300. Brooksby spent time focusing on his play and transitioned from the ATP Challenger Tour to the Pro Tour. Brooksby recorded the best Grand Slam result of his career to reach the fourth round. He defeated another American tennis player Taylor Fritz and stunned Australian Open semi-finalist No. 21 Aslan Karatsev in five sets. Brooksby bowed out in the fourth round to world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Djokovic, 34 years old from Belgrade, Serbia, who was ranked No. 1 globally, lost to 25-year-old Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev told USOpen.org, “he was going for some huge history, and knowing that I managed to stop him, it definitely makes it sweeter.” Medvedev, who is from Russia, took home the U.S. Open champion title in the men’s singles category.

However, the most memorable moment from the U.S. Open was Emma Raducanu, the 18-year-old qualifier who took home the 2021 U.S. Open champion title for the women’s singles category. She played fellow youngster 19-year-old Leylah Annie Fernandez again from Canada, who had eliminated world-famous Naomi Osaka on her course to the finals. Raducanu, from the United Kingdom, never played a match at the U.S. Open until this year. Her results made headlines everywhere as she took home the title. Raducanu not only won the tournament on her debut, but she did so without dropping a set. She didn’t lose more than five games in a set, and even then, it was only once in the tournament: during the second round of qualifying. To earn the win, Raducanu defeated Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic and No. 17 seed Maria Sakkari before the final matchup against Leylah Fernandez.

Raducanu made history by becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam in the Open Era. The 18-year-old is just beginning her career and has so much more to accomplish.