Bromley teen tennis sensation Emma Raducanu is currently fourth in the running to win this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

The 18-year-old’s odds have been slashed from 500/1 last month to 12/1, according to Oddschecker, after she comfortably beat Shelby Rogers to book a place in the US Open quarter finals.

The annual award is given to the British sportsperson who receives the most public votes following a BBC ceremony.

Only Olympic heroes Tom Daley (2/1), Jason Kenny (5/1) and Adam Peaty (6/1) are favoured over Raducanu currently, who sits ahead of three-time winner Lewis Hamilton (14/1).

Former Newstead Wood pupil Raducanu began playing tennis at the age of five at Bromley Tennis Academy.

Her Chinese mother, Rene, and Romanian father, Ian, moved to England from Toronto when she was two, settling in Bromley.

Raducanu won her first ITF junior title the week she turned 13, the earliest age at which she could compete.

She was an unknown wildcard when she arrived at Wimbledon earlier this year, ranked a lowly 338 in the world and with just one WTA Tour-level match under her belt.

Yet, fresh from sitting her A-Level exams, she made a dramatic entrance on the big stage.

In beating Vitalia Diatchenko, French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova and world number 45 Sorana Cirstea she became one of the stories of the tournament.

Her success made her the youngest British woman to reach Wimbledon’s second week since 1959.

Her run ended in frustrating circumstances as she was forced to retire against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic after suffering breathing difficulties, an outcome which led to a first brush with how harsh the media spotlight can be as her resolve was questioned.

Raducanu has come a long way since first earning a world ranking in 2018. She ended that year ranked 692.

Twelve months later she had risen to 503 and she was 343 at the end of last year. Her Wimbledon exploits saw her leap to 179 and she is currently at 150.

Her performances in New York have guaranteed she will rise to at least 74 when the rankings are next updated and another victory could see her overtake Johanna Konta and Heather Watson to become British number one.

Martina Navratilova has led the praise for Raducanu in New York.

“You see special when you see it for the first time, you know that you’ve got something special, and she’s one of those people,” said the 18-time grand slam title-winner. “It’s not hype, it’s real.”

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