Canada’s Leylah Annie Fernandez came up short Saturday as she tried to claim her first Grand Slam women’s tennis title.
The 19-year-old from Laval, Que., lost 6-4, 6-3 to unseeded Emma Raducanu in the U.S. Open final in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
Raducanu, 18, was born in Toronto, but moved to England when she was two.
Raducanu was the first player in the professional era to come through the qualifying rounds to reach the final of a major tournament. She’s the youngest Grand Slam champion since 17-year-old Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon in 2004.
In just her second Grand Slam tournament, Raducanu became the first player since Serena Williams in 2014 to not drop a set in the U.S. Open.
Fernandez, who entered the tournament ranked 73rd in the world, beat the third seed (Naomi Osaka), the 16th seed (Angelique Kerber), the No. 5 seed (Elina Svitolina) and the No. 2 seed (Aryna Sabalenka) on her way to the final.
Fernandez couldn’t match that performance Saturday, falling to the 150th-ranked player in the world.
It was the first all-teenage Grand Slam final since Serena Williams beat Martina Hingis in the 1999 U.S. Open.
— With files from The Associated Press