The phenomenon of the teenage prodigy isn’t new to women’s tennis. Since 1887, when Lottie Dod won the first of her five Wimbledon singles titles at just 15, several precocious talents have turned heads with a swing of their racquet.
The Open Era, which began in 1968, has seen Tracy Austin, Monica Seles and Martina Hingis win Grand Slam crowns before their 17th birthday, and Steffi Graf, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova achieve Major success before turning 18.
Hana Mandlikova and Emma Raducanu were 18 when they broke through. Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Chris Evert, Iva Majoli, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Bianca Andreescu, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff had to wait longer, but managed the feat before blowing out 20 candles on their birthday cake.
