Emma Raducanu gains more Instagram followers than Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in 2021
It wouldn't be wrong to say that Emma Raducanu dominated the tennis landscape in 2021. The 19-year-old gained more Instagram followers than any other tennis player this year, making an estimated growth of 22267.65%!
Digital Growth Agency Love UX recently released data for celebrities who gained the maximum number of Instagram followers. According to the agency, Raducanu gained a total of 2.1 million new followers in 2021.
18-year old Emma Raducanu wins the 2021 US Open. She is the first women's or men's qualifier to win a major title in the Open Era (since 1968).
Raducanu is the youngest women's major champion since 17-year-old Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon in 2004. https://t.co/Zl9yWG2Y0x
The British teenager shot into the limelight following her phenomenal run at the 2021 US Open, becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title in the Open Era.
In terms of the total number of followers gained, Raducanu sits in fourth place amongst all female athletes.
Interestingly, nearly all of Raducanu's 2.1 million followers on Instagram have been added this year alone.
Former World No. 1 Rafael Nadal also gained 2.1 million Instagram followers, making him the top-ranked male tennis player on the list. Despite falling just short of Raducanu, the Spaniard currently has 12.5 million followers on Instagram, which is more than both of his arch-rivals, Novak Djokovic (9.6 million) and Roger Federer (8.8 million).
Despite gaining 2 million followers, Emma Raducanu is way behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
According to Love UX, football legend Cristiano Ronaldo has surpassed all other players when it comes to popularity on Instagram. The Manchester United forward gained another 124 million followers this year, taking his current count to a whopping 379 million.
However, his arch-rival and seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, Lionel Messi, is not far behind. The Argentine legend gained 113.5 million followers in 2021 and currently has 292 million followers on Instagram.
Even though her numbers pale in comparison to Ronaldo and Messi, this doesn't take away from the exceptional popularity Emma Raducanu has gained this year.
To cap off her incredible season, the Brit was recently named BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Raducanu is the first tennis player since Andy Murray in 2016 to win the prestigious award.
Emma Raducanu was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2021.
A recap of #SPOTY 👇
Watch on @BBCiPlayer.
Also read: Emma Raducanu unveiled as new global ambassador for British Airways