A SPORTS club has spoken of their excitement as teenager Emma Raducanu will play in the final of the US Open.

Hawcoat Park Sports Club have congratulated the youngster and spoken about what it means for the future of tennis.

Hawcoat Park Chairman Paul Burns said: "It's the most exciting thing to happen to British tennis in years.

"As an LTA club, it shows that the programmes we run can bear fruit and produce the best in the world."

Raducanu made headlines as the youngest British tennis player to reach the US Open final since the beginning of the open era.

Helen, who is in her mid-40s and has played tennis for more than 20 years, is a member at Hawcourt Park Sports Club.  

She said: "She’s inspiring to British Tennis.  The scheme which she is on has obviously worked wonders for her.

"The fruits of what the LTA have done show in how well she’s played.  She’s won every match easily, played really well and looked very composed.

"She just attacks everything, there's no mercy in what she does.  She's growing in confidence every time you see her play."

Keith Allen, a coach at the club, said: "It's exciting for our future.  For the kids, they see someone like that and get an incentive to play, they want to get to those levels.  All the best players start at a local club like ours.

"It's all about participation, you see a big increase in interest when Wimbledon is on, for example.

"It’s technical but a game that you can play to any standard.  It's safe COVID-wise, the closest player is 50ft away, so the take-up in the past year has been huge and a lot of clubs have benefitted massively.

"It’s a good social sport, you can play at any level, in a team or solo. It's easy to get down, you can pay on your mobile, book a court, then go and open the court."

Helen continued: "It’s good for the support to have someone at that level playing, it encourages people to get involved.

"It's a great sport and Hawcoat is a great club.  There are opportunities, good facilities, mixed abilities, and it's a good way to get to know people.

"The whole country will be behind her."

The final will start at 9.20pm UK time on Saturday and be shown on Amazon Prime.