"Leave Emma Raducanu alone" - Fans slam John Isner over 'ridiculous claim' about Valentin Vacherot’s Shanghai win trumping Brit’s US Open triumph

Former American tennis star John Isner recently drew comparisons between Emma Raducanu’s US Open victory and Valentin Vacherot's Shanghai Masters win. Isner argued that the latter’s feat was more impressive but fans strongly disagreed.

In 2021, an 18-year-old Raducanu became the first qualifier (male or female) to win a Grand Slam tournament in the Open Era after she lifted the US Open trophy without dropping a set. More recently, Vacherot became the lowest ranked player to win an ATP Masters 1000 event.

During an episode of the Nothing Major Show, John Isner stated Vacherot's feat was the greater of the two achievements, saying,

“I think it is more impressive, yes. [For Raducanu] it’s a bigger story because it’s the US Open, but I think this is more improbable than what she did. I am giving it to Vacherot there. It’s just unheard of.”

Reacting to this, one fan on X wrote,

“These people must leave Emma Raducanu alone. Celebrate the new guy alone.”

Another X user expressed a similar opinion, writing,

“Ridiculous claim. The best players weren't even there.”

Here is how other tennis enthusiasts reacted to Isner’s comparisons between Emma Raducanu and Valentin Vacherot:

“The misogyny in tennis is crazy. She literally won a grand slam in her teens. He won a masters and is nearly 30,” one fan wrote. “Top three worst takes to come from the nothing major pod. which is impressive considering sam querrey exists,” another added. “Emma was 18 and had just finished school. She was a rookie and a qualifier who won without losing a set. A Slam. Bigger than a 28 year old qualifier winning a Masters irrespective of who they faced. You can only play who is in front of you,” one X user commented. “People are so twisted when it comes to Raducanu. She won a slam. Her win as a qualifier >>>,” yet another fan chimed in.

Emma Raducanu makes opening round exit in Ningbo Open

Emma Raducanu at the 2025 Wuhan Open (Image Source: Getty)

Earlier this week, Emma Raducanu was in action at the 2025 Ningbo Open. The Brit faced off against Zhu Lin for her opening round encounter at the event and was visibly struggling with her health, needing multiple medical timeouts. She eventually went down 3-6 6-4 6-1 in a match that lasted almost an hour and a half.

For Raducanu, this marks her second straight first round exit, with the Brit having withdrawn midway through her clash against Ann Li at the Wuhan Open earlier this month.

Edited by Riddhi Acharya