Raducanu, Swiatek: The top 5 most unlikely Grand Slam victories ever

It’s been almost a year since Emma Raducanu’s unprecedented win at the US Open. 

The British teenager stormed to victory in New York to become the first qualifier to ever win a major singles title. 

Raducanu’s win was one of the most unexpected triumphs in tennis history and her achievement may never be done again. 

With that in mind, we’ve picked out five of the most surprising major triumphs of all time. 

Honourable mentions must go to Barbora Krejcikova and Francesca Schiavone, who both secured unforeseen victories at Roland-Garros but don’t quite make this list. 

Raducanu entered the US Open qualifiers ranked outside the top 300 in the world. 

Ten matches later, she won her first career title, having not dropped a set in the tournament. 

Next week, the Brit starts her title defence in New York and is likely to be seeded in the top 15. 

Unlike Raducanu, Andreescu was seeded for the 2019 US Open, yet she still became the first Canadian to win a major and the youngest since Maria Sharapova in 2006. 

A then 19-year-old Andreescu also beat Serena Williams in the final – depriving the US icon a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title. 

Since then, the Canadian has struggled and has failed to reach beyond the fourth round of any major. 

Swiatek had shown lots of promise as a junior but few expected her to challenge at the 2020 French Open, especially as she was ranked 54th in the world. 

Yet, the Pole thrashed former champion Simona Halep and beat every other player in her way. 

Since then, Swiatek hasn’t looked back and claimed her second Roland-Garros title this year. 

Austin remains the youngest ever winner of the US Open, having won the tournament at the age of just 16. 

Her achievement is all the more remarkable when