Raducanu 'extremely grateful' to receive MBE

Tennis star Emma Raducanu has said she is "extremely grateful" after meeting the King and receiving her MBE.

The 20-year-old was awarded the honour for services to tennis, at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.

Raducanu, from Bromley in south-east London, won the US Open in September 2021 when she was 18 years old.

She became the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Virginia Wade in 1977 and the first qualifier of any nationality to do so.

The former pupil at Newstead Wood School in Orpington beamed as she posed for pictures after meeting the King.

In a statement issued by her agent, she said: "It's been great to receive my honour today from His Majesty the King - I feel extremely grateful."

The Labour MP Dame Nia Griffith, who was conferred with her damehood at the same ceremony, said of Raducanu: "I think it is fantastic seeing a young person [achieve] the success that she had and I think obviously now she faces that incredibly challenging situation of coping with that success and coping also with disappointment.

"And I certainly think it is wonderful to see young people being praised and being rewarded and let's make sure we give every young person the opportunities so that they can develop their talents to the full."