NEW YORK: Emma Raducanu, the U.S. Open champion, said on Wednesday that her sensational victory at Flushing Meadows had yet to sink in and that the 18 months she took off from the sport gave her the "hunger" to win in New York.

On Saturday, the 18-year-old British player stunned the tennis world by defeating Canada's Leylah Fernandez in straight sets to become the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title.

"I feel great. Everything that's happened in the last 72 hours has been so much fun... it still hasn't really sunk in, but occasionally I'll remember that I won the U.S. Open. So yeah, a really funny feeling," she told the WTA website.

Raducanu took a year off from tennis last year due to the pandemic, as well as her parents' insistence that she finishes her high school exams.

"Having 18 months away... coming out you play every match like you don't know when your last match will be. That was how I was approaching the whole summer... But the biggest thing is that I never once got ahead of myself," she said.

"For three weeks I just played the opponent in front of me, I took care of what I wanted to try and achieve on that day against that opponent, and just repeated it for three weeks."

Raducanu has made a number of public appearances since her victory last weekend, the most notable of which was at the Met Gala in New York on Monday. 

The teenager called her red-carpet experience "eye-opening", adding: "At the Met Gala everyone is so experienced and so accomplished in their own way and it was really cool to hear how they are and their perspective on things."

For the time being, Raducanu stated that she intended to take a break from tennis after a hectic few weeks and that she was unsure when her next tournament would be.

"I think for me, still, I cherish the most the moments with the team after the win... that was probably the most special night ever when we were reflecting... I know I'll get back to work probably Monday or early next week... schedule-wise, I'm not sure," she added.

Edited - SportsAction / Inputs - Agency