JOHN YANG: Tomorrow's U.S. Open women's singles championship match will be a
fairy tale ending, no matter who wins.
The finalists, 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez of Canada and 18-year-old Emma Raducanu of Britain,
were barely known just a couple of weeks ago, other than to the closest followers of the sport.
Stacey Allaster is the U.S. Open Tournament director, the first woman in that job. And
she's also the former CEO of the Women's Tennis Association. She joins me now from New York.
Stacey, who are these two young women? And tell us a little bit
about their paths to tomorrow's match the last couple of weeks.
STACEY ALLASTER, Director, U.S. Open Tournament: Well, they have become
instant stars in these last two weeks here in New York at the U.S. Open.
Leylah, she had her 19th birthday here. She's from Canada. She's been playing the sport since
she was 7 years old, comes with an athletic father. He was an Ecuadorian soccer player,
and her father is her coach. Her mom is a French Canadian of Filipino dissent.
I have seen her in the juniors for a few years. And everybody kept talking about
her. And it is really incredible. She beat three Grand Slam champions to get to the final
of a major here in New York. Incredible.
And Emma is a similar story of incredible accomplishments here in three weeks. Emma
played in the qualifying, where you're trying to earn your way into the main draw. She beat
the Olympic gold medalist. She's been playing since she was 5.
But these two young athletes are lifers, been playing a long time,
and they are having their fairy tale moment here on Arthur Ashe.
JOHN YANG: And Emma not too long ago was
finishing her high school finals, final exams, what they call the A Levels in Great Britain.
As you say, they have developed quite a following in their march to the finals.
I mean, what's this going to be like? What do you anticipate tomorrow to be like in the stadium?
STACEY ALLASTER: Well, we have had, John, the most incredible two weeks. Everyone keeps saying
this has been the most exciting U.S. Open. The fans just seem to be energized
at a different level. Maybe it's because of the pandemic and they're just so happy
that they can come to a live sporting event. Or is it -- and/or is it what's happened on the court?
And it has been unbelievable matches. We have played almost 20 hours more than what we had
scheduled on ESPN. So I think it's been the quality of the competition. The fans have been
into it. And the fans have helped lift up these two particular -- everyone loves the underdog,
and each athlete has said that the fans have helped pull them through to this final moment.
I cannot wait for tomorrow. It will be electric, and history will be made tomorrow afternoon.
JOHN YANG: This is a sport where the favorites tend to be the same -- the
same usual names tournament after tournament.
What does this do for the sport to have these two young women, fresh faces, in the finals?
STACEY ALLASTER: It's an exciting time for our sport.
We have been blessed with Serena Williams. We have had her in the draw
for almost a quarter-of-a-century. And everyone, as we started this tournament,
we don't have Serena, we don't have Roger, we don't have Rafa to injury.
What is the future of tennis? Where are the next champions?
And I said at the start of the tournament, what we know for certain, as legacy athletes
begin their next chapter in life, the next generation comes along,
they stand on their shoulders, and they take the sport to the next level. And these two
athletes have done it. And it really is then fantastic to bring more youth to our sport.
For the USDA, our mission is to recruit new, diverse participants.
To two -- to have two athletes of color and of Asian descent is fantastic for the growth
of our sport. That's really -- at the end of the day, they inspire kids to come to a game.
And we want everyone to feel welcome to play the sport of tennis.
JOHN YANG: You mentioned the legacy sports stars of this -- of this game.
I have to ask you, as we sit here, we will know later tonight whether Novak Djokovic will
play in the finals on Sunday for the chance to be the first calendar year Grand Slam winner in
52 years, since Rod Laver did it. What -- talk a little bit about the significance of that.
STACEY ALLASTER: The fact that a male hasn't won a Grand Slam
since 1969 just shows you how hard, physically, it is to do.
And Novak, alongside of 20 majors, this would be 21. So there's that historic moment.
And with the pandemic and the difficulties of performing,
week in, week out, I think it is even further incredible that tonight
and possibly on Sunday he will be going for that calendar Grand Slam. It's really, really historic.
And he's written his own legacy, irrespective of what happens tonight.
JOHN YANG: Stacey Allaster, tournament director of the U.S. Open, you have
got a big weekend coming up. Thank you very much.
STACEY ALLASTER: Thank you, John.