Emma Raducanu crowned Sports Personality of the Year following her stunning US Open triumph

The new queen of British tennis emulated real-life royalty on Sunday night when she was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Following her fairytale of New York, Emma Raducanu replaced Princess Anne as the youngest woman to win the award in the show’s 67-year history. The 19-year-old also became the first female to pick up the prestigious prize since Anne’s daughter, Zara Phillips, in 2006, and immediately received a congratulatory tweet from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Raducanu’s coronation was a strange and subdued affair as she was forced to collect a replica trophy alone in her hotel room in Abu Dhabi, where she is isolating after testing positive for Covid-19 this week.

It meant her victory speech was delivered over Zoom at almost 1am in the United Arab Emirates.

‘To win, it’s really pretty amazing for me,’ said Raducanu. ‘I am really happy with this. I have always watched Sports Personality of the Year growing up, so I am really humbled to join the amazing past winners.

‘I am also very happy for British tennis that we were able to get this award again. Thank you so much to the voters and all of the fans for all of the support I have received this past year. It has been absolutely insane.’

Raducanu is the youngest SPOTY winner since another 19-year-old, Michael Owen, in 1998. She topped the public vote ahead of Olympic heroes Tom Daley and Adam Peaty, who finished second and third respectively.

The Bromley teenager was the overwhelming favourite for the award – as short as 1-50 on with one bookies – after her jaw-dropping victory at the US Open in September, which was one of the sporting stories of the century, never mind year.

To even reach the main draw at Flushing Meadows, Raducanu, then only 18 and having just received her A-level results, needed to negotiate three rounds of qualifying.

She entered the tournament ranked No150 in the world and astonishingly went on to win it without dropping a set, beating fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 in the final in front of 23,000 fans on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

It was the first Grand Slam singles title won by a British woman in 44 years, with Raducanu also becoming the first qualifier in the Open era to win a major.

Raducanu was always going to miss last night’s show in Salford after opting to play in an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi as she warms up for next month’s Australian Open.

But even a presentation of the trophy was ruled out when she caught Covid-19 last Monday and was forced to isolate for 10 days, meaning she had to pick up a replica on her own.

Of the six sports stars shortlisted for the main award, only Daley, Peaty and Dame Sarah Storey attended the low-key show, which took place without a live audience for a second consecutive year because of concerns over Covid-19.

Raheem Sterling was missing after scoring for Manchester City in their 4-0 win at Newcastle yesterday. Tyson Fury, meanwhile, was on holiday in America but had refused to engage with the show, having even threatened to sue the BBC if he was included on the shortlist.

The only reference made to the world heavyweight champion’s absence was when SPOTY host Gabby Logan said: ‘Sadly, Tyson isn’t able to be with us tonight.’

Diver Daley was runner-up behind Raducanu after finally winning Olympic gold in Tokyo at his fourth Games. Peaty finished third after he became the first British swimmer to retain an Olympic title.

‘I was so shocked,’ said Peaty afterwards. ‘To get a nomination in the first place, it was just incredible. So to actually come top three, I can’t believe it.

‘What Emma did was incredible. It was a huge honour to be part of that tonight although it was a bit weird without an audience.’

One of the big winners of the night was the England men’s football team for their run to the final of Euro 2020. They claimed the Team of the Year award, while Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate scooped Coach of the Year for the second time.

Irish jockey Rachael Blackmore was voted World Sport Star of the Year after becoming the first female rider to win the Grand National, as well as lifting the leading jockey trophy at the Cheltenham Festival.

However, despite flying in from Dublin, she missed out on picking up her award in person after getting delayed upon arrival at Manchester Airport and was interviewed over Zoom instead.

Skateboarder Sky Brown was named Young Sports Personality of the Year after the 13-year-old became Great Britain’s youngest Olympic medallist with a bronze in the women’s park. She beat off competition from England and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham and Paralympic swimmer Ellie Challis.

The Helen Rollason Award was won by Scotland and Arsenal footballer Jennifer Beattie, who continued playing this year despite being diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2020.

American gymnast Simone Biles, who has four Olympic gold medals and 19 World Championship titles, was announced as the winner of the Lifetime Achievement award on Saturday.