Former US Open champion Raducanu receives MBE from king

British tennis player Emma Raducanu was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on Tuesday, a little more than a year after she shocked the sporting world when she became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam.


The then-18-year-old Raducanu catapulted her career to new heights when she won 10 matches without dropping a set to claim the US Open title, beating Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the final.


“It’s been great to receive my honour today from His Majesty the King – I feel extremely grateful,” she said in a statement made to members of the media after receiving the MBE from King Charles at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.


Her first full year on Tour was marred by injury and disappointing finishes and she current sits ranked 75th in the world.


Meanwhile, US tennis coaches Bob Bryan and Mardy Fish have been fined and received suspended bans for breaking betting sponsorship rules, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said Tuesday.


The pair were fined $10 000 each and received suspended bans of four months after admitting promoting a gaming operator on social media.


Because the pair were on the US Davis Cup coaching team in 2022, they are considered ‘covered persons’ and thereby banned from such activities.


The tennis integrity watchdog’s rules state: “No Covered Person shall directly or indirectly, facilitate, encourage and/or promote Tennis Betting.”


The organisation said both had fully cooperated with the probe and had agreed to assist with education and prevention initiatives to promote integrity in tennis.


Fish, 40, reached a career-high ranking of world No 7, and won an Olympic silver medal in 2004. He reached the quarterfinals of the Australian and US Opens and Wimbledon.


Bryan, 44, a top-ranked doubles player with twin brother Mike, won 23 Grand Slams, including seven mixed doubles.