Two unseeded teenagers will square off in the women’s finals of the US Open

This is a huge deal in historical context:

  • It is the first all-teen final since 1999, when Serena played Hingis.
  • It is the first all-unseeded final since – ever. (In the Open Era, 1968-present.)
  • Raducanu is the first person of either gender to advance to the finals from the qualifiers.
  • Obviously, tennis ain’t just for white people any more. The Williams sisters seem to have opened the floodgates. Both of these young whippersnappers have mothers of Asian ethnicity. Raducanu’s mom’s heritage is Chinese, Fernandez’s is Filipino. (Filipina? Filipinx? Whatever the right word is now.)

Britain’s Emma Raducanu breezed through her semi-final match in just 36 minutes. She has not lost a single set in the qualifiers or in the main draw.

Canada’s Leylah Fernandez needed three sets to win all of her matches, but she had to defeat three of the world’s top five players plus a former U.S. Open champion. Weighing in at 105 pounds, she played David today to the Belorusian Goliath, Sabalenka, who at six feet and 176 pounds, has served a ball as fast as 133 mph. Sabalenka’s second serve is faster than Leylah’s first, but that wasn’t enough to win today’s semi-final.