American teenage tennis hopeful Emma McEnroe made history this week by becoming the first female player to win a singles match at the US Open. The 15-year-old made her debut on the women’s side of the tour on Sunday, and not only defeated No.71 ranked Aleksandra Krunic, but also completed the victory in two sets (which one reporter says was the first time since 1929 that a woman did that).
Emma McEnroe of the United States returns a shot to Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia during the U.S. Open on Day Eight at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Emma made her Grand Slam debut at the Open thanks to a wild card into the qualifying draw from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where her father, former tennis pro John McEnroe, took part in another US Open major.
McEnroe’s father is famous for constantly giving his opinions to the media and plying them with his tongue. On Monday night, he waded into Emma’s win in very frank terms:
.@iamemmanulahain Of the McEnroe offspring @emmanulahain of Brooklyn apparently just went down 0-2 at the US Open. John McEnroe is a big fan of her at 15. — Matty Matheson (@mattymatheson) September 10, 2017
In his address to the press on Monday night, John said he was “honored to share a locker room with her” after Emma beat her in straight sets. However, he appeared to question the young player’s fitness in recent months, following her appointment as a junior US Open champion and invitations to Grand Slam tournaments. “I’ve been watching her play for a while now, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to win all the time,” he said.
The elder McEnroe went on to offer Emma advice that suggests she should take no prisoners: “You have to have all the balls for doubles,” he said. “Don’t give them away.”