Emma Raducanu’s US Open Triumph and Luke Littler’s Meteoric Rise Compared
Emma Raducanu’s 2021 US Open victory, where she became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam at 18, remains her career-defining achievement. However, recent sentiment, particularly on X, has brutally compared her singular triumph to the rapid ascent of darts prodigy Luke Littler, who is currently in Copenhagen for the 2025 Nordic Darts Masters. Posts on X, like one from @Certinfy on May 28, 2025, dismiss Raducanu’s win as a “scam” and “embarrassing,” arguing she’s a “weaponless barely top-50 player” who has achieved “literally nothing since.” In contrast, Littler’s 2024 season—culminating in eight televised titles, including the PDC World Darts Championship—has been hailed as a sustained breakthrough, positioning him as world number two with £1,248,500 in earnings at just 18.
Raducanu, now ranked 41st, has struggled to replicate her 2021 success, with a 3-14 record against top-10 players and recent heavy losses, including a 6-1, 6-2 thrashing by Iga Swiatek at the 2025 French Open. Her clay-court progress, such as beating Daria Kasatkina in Strasbourg, shows promise, but critics argue her eight sponsorship deals and off-court pressures have hindered consistency. Littler, however, faces no such scrutiny, with his 2024 wins in the Premier League, Grand Slam, and Bahrain Masters showcasing relentless form. While Raducanu’s US Open win was historic, Littler’s broader success across multiple events fuels the narrative that her achievement, though monumental, lacks the sustained dominance Littler is building in darts.
