Emma Raducanu has yet to achieve a number of basic benchmarks in her professional tennis career, which just began three months ago. She has never qualified for a grand slam main draw, has never played a tour-level three-set match, and has never won a match on the WTA circuit.

But she won the US Open at the age of 18 on Saturday, an accomplishment that few could have expected. Raducanu, representing the United Kingdom, defeated 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in a final that was already unusual in that it was the first time only teenagers competed since 17-year-old Serena Williams upset 18-year-old Martina Hingis for the US Open title more than 20 years ago.

Raducanu, the first qualifier in the Open era to reach a Grand Slam final, was unfazed by the momentous event and maintained her cool to become the first British woman to win the US Open singles championship in 53 years, despite late drama.

Raducanu is the first British woman to win a major event since Virginia Wade in 1977 at Wimbledon, and she is the first British woman to win the US Open since Wade in 1968.

The British tennis sensation complimented her opponent after the match and expressed optimism that they will compete in many more tournaments and finals in the future.

She thanked the audience, “Thank you to everyone here in New York – thank you all for making me feel so at home from my first qualifying match all the way to the final. I’ve loved playing in front of you and you’ve really spurred me on in some difficult moments.”

Both players refused to be impacted by the occasion from the start of the first grand slam final involving teenagers in 22 years. They wrenched the baseline from each other throughout the opening set, guarded with exceptional mobility, and played every game with ferocity. Raducanu took control of the early exchanges by continually shifting direction off both sides, and she set the tone in the first game with a cross-court backhand winner.

According to CNN, Raducanu’s performance at the US Open had already created history: she participated as a qualifier and was the first qualifier in either men’s or women’s tennis to even reach the finals of a Grand Slam tournament.

American tennis icon Billie Jean King presented Raducanu with the trophy, as Virginia Wade and Tim Henman cheered him on.

“It means so much to have Virginia here and also Tim,” Raducanu said after her victory. “To have such British legends and icons, for me to follow in their footsteps, it really helped and it definitely gave me the belief that I could actually do it.”

The queen congratulated Raducanu on her triumph in a public letter, calling her victory a “remarkable achievement” and complimenting her “hard work and dedication.”