Emma Raducanu's early exit at Wimbledon hasn't stopped her reaching a new career high after breaking into the top 10 of the world rankings.
Raducanu, 19, made her Centre Court debut at SW19, overcoming Belgium's Alison Van Uytvanck on the opening day of the Championships. However, she fell at the next hurdle, beaten by Caroline Garcia in straight sets, with the French player going on to make the last-16.
Usually, a second round defeat would have potentially harmed the ranking of the British star, but that hasn't been the case this time around following the explosive sage which saw Russian and Belarusian players banned from competing. The ATP and WTA responded to the sanction by stripping Wimbledon of ranking points.
And that has seemingly worked in the favour of Raducanu, who has now moved to No 10. The new marker represents a meteoric rise from the Bromley-based star, who began 2021 ranked outside the top 340.
Then came a fairytale year though, which saw her reach the last-16 in her maiden Grand Slam event at Wimbledon, before she pulled off the seemingly impossible at the US Open. After having to qualify for the main draw, she seared into the final at Flushing Meadows without even dropping a set.
There, she beat Canada's Leylah Fernandez in straight sets to secure one of the most astonishing Slam wins in the history of the sport. Her triumph elevated her to superstardom, and by the start of 2022 she had risen more than 300 places in the WTA rankings
She is the first British female player to reach the top 10 since Johanna Konta, who was as high as No4 in 2017. That followed her making the semi-finals at Wimbledon, where her hopes were dashed by Venus Williams.
And Raducanu and Konta are two of just five from these shores to reach the top 10 in the open era. Virginia Wade, Jo Durie, and Sue Barker, who on Sunday stepped down from presenting the BBC's coverage of SW19, complete the list.
The defending champion will almost certainly be seeded when she returns to New York to defend her title – with the tournament running from August 29 to September 11. And after her loss at SW19, she defied suggestions she was feeling the pressure from the attention that comes from winning a major title.
“I am 19 years old. Yes, I have had attention," she told reporters. "But I'm a Slam champion, so no-one's going to take that away from me. If anything, the pressure is on those who haven't done that.
“Why is there any pressure? I'm still 19. Like, it's a joke. I literally won a slam. Going back to New York, it's going to be cool because I have got a lot of experiences playing on big courts, playing with people in the stadium, playing with the spotlight on you. I don't mind that."
Polish player Iga Swiatek has retained her No 1 spot in the WTA rankings. However, despite reaching the final at Wimbledon, Ons Jabeur has dropped three places to fifth.
