Emma Raducanu

“Every time you watch her you think she’s going to win every point.  You don’t even get that nervous.  She’s the real thing, you don’t get someone head and shoulders above that often and she’s one of those.  She has an incredible future.”

~ Virginia Wade

Young tennis star Emma Raducanu has been electrifying us with good news and mounting anticipation this week at the U.S. Open, culminating in her astonishing win last night as champion of this tournament.  Since her surprise emergence at Wimbledon this year, she has received A* in A Level Maths and an A in Economics, and toured America, before the tournament which began on 24th August.  She has quipped that she was set for an early exit with a flight back, but is taking it all in her stride, focussing one day at a time, taking care of each day.  Maybe her approach is a masterclass on living in the Now…?

Birth Chart

What is it that marks Emma out as outstanding in her field?  Without the valuable information of a birth time, what stands out for me is her Sun exactly conjunct Mercury in Scorpio – a super intense focus of concentration and strong will, making for precision and depth.  This conjunction is part of a T-square with Jupiter opposing Uranus.  Mercury square Jupiter gives a wide-ranging mind, and Mercury square Uranus tends not to care what others think, which leaves the mind and heart clear in some ways.  Venus is involved in a Grand Trine with Saturn and Uranus, conferring personal strength, and the ability to see the value of the old and the new at the same time, which is a great balance.  She has Mars exactly sextile Jupiter, often found in tennis players, a combination of energy and enthusiasm – as evidenced in her smile.  Mars trines Uranus giving her the power of surprise in action, and at the same time Mars is closely sextile Pluto, providing a powerhouse of energy.  One of her great strengths is Jupiter exactly trine Pluto, a tremendous power, which can be a great force for good in its application.  With Neptune closely trine the North Node, she is already a spiritual leader, judging by the legions of very young tennis players inspired by her example.  Pluto at the South Node in Sagittarius implies that she has undergone intense training in past lifetimes, not just this one, in order to achieve this level of athleticism. Martina Navratilova quipped: “She’s been here before in another life”. Tennis is her chosen path, but one gets the impression she is capable in so many ways.

Timelines

Emma was born in Toronto on 13th November 2002, of mixed parentage (Romanian and Chinese).  She came to England when she was two years old.  She started playing tennis when she was five and turned professional when she was 16.  She chose as her idols Simona Halep (of Romanian heritage) and Li Na (of Chinese heritage).  Now here’s a thing!:

Instinctively, she chose perfectly.  For her Mars (physical energy) is at 18 degrees Libra (the sign I most associate with tennis), and Simona Halep’s is so close to that at 19 degrees Libra, while Li Na’s Mars is spot on the same degree (18 degrees Libra).  Their energies are synchronized.  She was literally able to follow in their groove.  That made it easier to find her own individual physical path in the pursuit of perfection.

The Guardian reported last July:

“At 17 years old, Raducanu is the biggest young British prospect in the women’s game and she has shown why this week at the Battle of the Brits, her meaty serve and groundstrokes dominating throughout.”

In July this year, she came to our notice as a wild card at Wimbledon.  When she reached the third round, on 2nd, she was quoted as commenting: “Everyone thinks I’m absolutely fanatic about my school results. They think I have such an inflated ego about it. Actually, I would say I have high standards for myself. That’s helped me get to where I am in tennis and also in terms of school results.”

By 3rd July, at 18 years of age, she was being hailed as the youngest British female to reach the second week of Wimbledon since 1959.  In her transits, Jupiter was trine her natal Venus.

Sadly, on 5th July, she experienced breathing difficulties on court and retired from the fourth round.  Worry was raised over the parallels with young Naomi Osaka who burst onto the tennis world at a young age, then began to have mental health issues.  With Mercury exactly conjunct the Sun in Emma’s natal chart, the respiratory system may be a slight weakness, but it was generally thought to be a panic attack.

A Level results came out on 10th August, and she excelled in these:  her transits reflected that, with three trines (Mars trine her natal Chiron in Capricorn, Jupiter trine her natal Saturn in Gemini, and Saturn trine exactly her natal North Node to the day in Gemini).

The U.S. Open began on 24th August, and she has progressed steadily through the tournament, without dropping a set.  Jupiter was on her natal Uranus as she was riding high at the tournament.  She astonishingly qualified for the final against fellow teenager Leylah Annie Fernandez.

Leylah is another astonishing young woman, and the two are well known to each other.  Leylah was also born in Canada, and was playing for her home country.  She is also an exotic mixture – of Ecuadorian and Filippino heritage.  Both girls have arresting smiles.

At the final last night, Emma’s transits were:-

A Venus Return in Scorpio exactly at the time of the match

Mars square her natal Saturn in Gemini, exact at the time of the match, a test of her self-control

And Jupiter on her natal Uranus, an amazing surprise

For her opponent, Leylah Annie Fernandez, Mars is also square natal Saturn (also exact at the time of the match), for although Fernandez is two months older than Raducanu, their Saturns are conjunct.  It was a karmic meeting!  The recent New Moon during the tournament was supportive to Fernandez, for it fell exactly on her Sun in Virgo.  At the final, Uranus trined her natal Sun, though that does not become exact until October.  The Nodal Axis is square her natal Mars, and Saturn opposes her natal Jupiter in Leo.  There are other similarities in their charts, such as having their Venuses in conjunction, their Saturns and Neptunes.  Emma’s North Node makes two karmic connections, trines with Leylah’s Mercury and Neptune.

Records

This week Emma has broken several records:

She is the only singles qualifier to win the U.S. Open final

She is the  lowest ranked U.S. Open semi-finalist since 2009

She is the youngest semi-finalist since 2005

She is the first British female in 53 years to reach the finals

The Match

The match was a superb display of women’s tennis, reflective of the power tussle of yesterday’s Jupiter-Pluto semi-sextile.  Emma was playing without the support of her parents there, and with the crowd volubly on the side of Leylah.  The first set was evenly matched, so much so that Emma’s win took me by surprise – it seemed to come suddenly.  Leylah started to trail in the second set, but saved a few match points.  Then came drama.  Emma scraped her leg on the ground and it started bleeding.  It was at a crucial point, for Leylah was on the verge of possibly breaking back.  The match was stopped while the leg was attended to, but Leylah was visibly upset at the disruption.  This incident (itself unheard of according to the commentators) may be reflected in the transit of Mars (blood) square Saturn (leg), which happened to Emma but affected Leylah – they both had this transit.  Eventually, Emma forged on and won the tournament on an Ace.  Leylah was upset, but composed herself enough to make a memorable and mature speech, praising the resilience of New Yorkers, on this the 20th Anniversary of 9/11.

Watching Emma, I became aware of her unusual body language, and open aura, as though stretching out to her full potential.  Ah, who knew the power of a Venus Return in Scorpio?…I suspect she has a Libran Ascendant.  But both girls were outstanding, and the future of women’s tennis is showing great promise.

“When you make history you do it at  one level or two.  Emma is doing it at so many.  We’ve been hyping her but it’s happening.  She’s backing it all up.”

~ Martina Navratilova

Aspects

On Tuesday (14th) Neptune from its own sign opposes the Sun in Virgo, and careful schedules may be thrown into confusion.  Your concentration may not be so acute, and issues may seem more clouded.  Conundrums may present themselves to you.

There will a be a change of energy on Wednesday, from the early hours of the morning, with Mars (the planet of war) entering Libra (the sign of peace).  It means that Peace and War have to interact, and negotiate, and can no longer ignore each other.  Either one can prevail, but they do have to try and acknowledge each other and if possible make progress.  Whether you have an ongoing tussle in your circle, or are interested in the wider world picture, this movement of Mars could be crucial, especially if you have experienced an impasse.  Brave and hard headed negotiations could take place with the Taliban in Afghanistan during this sojourn of Mars, which lasts until 30th October.

Two contrasting aspects occur on Friday.  The first, in the very early hours of the morning, is a psychologically constructive and positive trine between the Sun and Pluto.  You may experience and contemplate (or dream) in great depth, and any creativity will have this profound quality imbued within it.  You may find that you have made more real progress than you thought, your patience is rewarded.  There could be a revelation.

The other aspect, occurring around waking time, is more sober: a square between Venus and Saturn.  Both influences may operate during the day, and possibly together may produce bittersweet experiences.  Maybe you were wrestling with a conundrum overnight…Maybe you felt let down by someone or you disappointed yourself in some way.  Forgiveness could be a solution, in that case.  Perhaps the way the changes are taking shape are not quite to your liking, but it is not too late to change them.  It may be about the way something looks, or the way something makes you feel, but some warmth of heart can make a difference.  Relationships need work.  If it’s any consolation, the power of the first aspect may overcome the difficulties of the second.

The week in bullet points:

  • Tuesday – mystery
  • Wednesday – galvanize for peace
  • Friday – psychological strength; sadness
Date: Sep 12th, 2021 · Comments RSS · Tags: Sport · Wimbledon