Emma Raducanu has been named BT Sport Action Woman of the Year to cap off what has been a truly unforgettable 12 months for the 19-year-old from Kent.

The British tennis sensation burst onto the scene in 2021 by making the fourth round at Wimbledon as a wildcard before taking home the US Open trophy in spectacular fashion without dropping a set at Flushing Meadows, becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam tournament in the Open Era.

Emma fought off competition from five other inspiring nominees, including Laura Kenny (cycling), Emily Campbell (weightlifting), Rachael Blackmore (horse racing), Dame Sarah Storey (para-cycling), and Kadeena Cox (para-athletics), to win the public vote and round off what has been yet another groundbreaking year for women’s sport.

Emma was presented the award by Kate Richardson-Walsh at the eighth annual awards show hosted by Clare Balding in front of a star-studded audience to celebrate this year’s standout performances by British and Irish female athletes.

In addition, footballer Lauren James won the Rising Star award as voted for by the public after making history as Manchester United’s first-ever goal-scorer in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League and finishing as their top scorer in the 2019/20 season with six goals in 12 appearances. James has since gone on to earn her first England call-up and a move to WSL Champions Chelsea.

Chelsea Women FC were named the Team of the Year to mark what has been a prolific season for Emma Hayes’ side which saw the Blues win the FA Cup Final, secure back-to-back WSL titles, the Continental League Cup, Community Shield and reach their first-ever Champions League final.

Paula Dunn MBE received the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her pioneering contribution to UK Paralympics. The former Olympic sprinter was appointed the first female head coach at British Athletics after London 2012 and has since overseen one of the most successful periods in history for Para athletics in Britain.

BT Sport presenter Clare Balding said: “2021 has been another great year for women’s sport, for both teams and individuals. Those nominated tonight, as well as thousands of others across the UK and Ireland, embody the talent, determination and resilience that is helping sport grow year on year. This is why BT Sport is incredibly proud to celebrate the success of these phenomenal athletes with the Action Woman Awards, and hopefully play our part in inspiring the next generation of superstars.”

With thanks to BT Sport via Pitch

BT Sport has today announced the nominees for the eighth annual BT Sport Action Woman of the Year Award. In what has been yet another groundbreaking year for women’s sport, the award celebrates six of 2021’s standout performances by British and Irish female athletes, as well as three of the UK’s Rising Stars.

2021 was hailed ‘the year of the female Olympian’, with Team GB taking more women than men to a summer Olympic Games for the first time in its 125-year history, and Team GB’s women certainly delivered: from Laura Kenny becoming the most successful female cyclist in the Games’ history to the Gadirova sisters laying the promising foundations for the future of British gymnastics, these achievements were matched by the Paralympic team, with record-breakers such as Dame Sarah Storey and Kadeena Cox propelling Team GB to second in the medal table.

But women’s sport shone away from Tokyo too, with Emma Raducanu becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam tournament in the Open Era and Rachael Blackmore being crowned the first female jockey to win the Grand National.

Based on athletes’ individual achievements, a shortlist of nominees has been selected by a panel of judges including BT Sport’s Clare Balding OBE, Dame Katherine Grainger and Kate Richardson Walsh OBE, Tammy Parlour MBE, Women’s Sport Trust, Steph Harries, Women’s Sports Group and Anna Kessell, Women’s Sport Editor at The Telegraph.

In addition to the Action Woman of the Year award, BT Sport will recognise the next generation of pioneering female athletes with the inaugural Rising Star Award, which will also be presented on the night.

To commemorate the shortlist, BT Sport has commissioned nine female artists from across the UK to create bespoke illustrations of the nominees. The artists were selected by BT Sport following an open-call on social media, which looked to unearth some of the most talented, up-and-coming designers, artists and illustrators.

BT Sport presenter Clare Balding said: “This year has seen so many incredible achievements from Tokyo and beyond: familiar names grabbed the headlines while new faces have also been catapulted to international stardom. Being able to bring much-deserved recognition to these incredible sportswomen is why I’m so excited to work alongside BT Sport in shining a light on their stories and, in doing so, hopefully inspire the next generation of female athletes.”

Simon Green, head of BT Sport, said: “It has been another standout year for women’s sport, as demonstrated not only by the combined heroics of Team GB in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, but also by individual achievements, with so many incredible, record-breaking displays from tennis and football to cricket and horse racing. We are proud to champion the achievements of our nominees and encourage everyone to show their appreciation and admiration for these remarkable athletes by voting for their favourite sportswoman of 2021.”

The winner of the BT Sport Action Woman of the Year Award and the Rising Star award will be decided by a public vote via the website: btsport.com/actionwoman.

The winners will be announced at the BT Sport Action Woman of the Year Awards show, presented by Clare Balding and broadcast and open for anyone to watch (subscribers and non-subscribers), live on BT Sport 1, online and on YouTube and Twitter from 8pm.

BT Sport Action Woman of the Year nominees

Laura Kenny – Cycling

2021 saw Kenny become the most successful female cyclist in Olympic history, following a gold medal in the women’s Madison in Tokyo. The win also made Kenny the first British woman to take home gold medals in three consecutive games.

Emma Raducanu – Tennis

From wildcard entry to British number 1 with a Grand Slam along the way, it has been a year to remember for Emma Raducanu. The youngster burst onto the scene by making the fourth round at Wimbledon before taking home the US Open trophy in spectacular fashion.

Emily Campbell – Weightlifting 


Not only did Campbell take home gold at the European games in Moscow towards the start of the year, but the 26-year-old also became Britain’s first ever female Olympic weightlifting medalist, claiming silver in Tokyo.

Rachael Blackmore – Horse racing


Rachael Blackmore sent records tumbling in 2021 as she became the first woman to win the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and the first to finish as top jockey, with six winners in all. She then rode Minella Times to victory at Aintree to become the first female jockey to win the Grand National.

Dame Sarah Storey – Cycling 


A whopping 17th gold medal of a long and illustrious career saw the cycling legend become GB’s most successful Paralympian of all time, having taken home 28 medals across eight Paralympic Games.

Kadeena Cox – Athletics 


Cox successfully defended her Olympic time trial with a world-record-setting final run and finished just outside the medals in the T38 400m to round off a hugely impressive multisport display.

Rising Star nominees

Jessica & Jennifer Gadirova – Gymnastics

Teenage twins Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova wowed the nation with their performances in artistic gymnastics at Tokyo 2020. The 16-year-old siblings were part of the four-strong British women’s team who won a historic bronze medal in Japan.

Alice Capsey – Cricket

Having made her professional debut with a match-winning half-century in the first ever Hundred, the 17-year-old delivered an instrumental performance with bat and ball as the Oval Invincibles beat the Southern Braves to be crowned the first Hundred champions in front of 17,000 fans. A winner’s medal in the Charlotte Edwards Cup propelled her to being named as the inaugural PCA Women’s Young Player of the Year.

Lauren James – Football

James made history as a teenager by scoring Manchester United’s first-ever goal in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League and finished as their top scorer in the 2019/20 season with six goals in 12 appearances. She was also shortlisted for the PFA Women’s Young Player of the Year that season. James has gone from strength to strength, earning her first England call-up last year and earning a move to WSL champions Chelsea in July.

With thanks to BT Sport via Pitch

The team’s nomination for this prestigious award came as no surprise after they wrote their names into the nation’s sporting history in April, as they secured a last-second win against home favourites Australia at the Commonwealth Games.   

Following England’s dramatic win at the Gold Coast, the team jumped to second in the International Netball Federation’s world rankings – their highest position to date.

Since then, the Vitality Roses’ success has continued as they went on to win the Vitality Netball International Series against Uganda and were named Team of the Year at the Sunday Times Sports Women of the Year Awards.

The Roses attended the glamorous black tie event at the BT Studios in London, amongst many other sporting stars and were up against Chelsea FC Women and the GB Athletics 4x100m relay team for the award.

Natalie Haythornthwaite, Commonwealth Games gold medallist, said: “Wow, we feel so privileged to have won this award. It’s awesome to get recognition for what we achieved out on the Gold Coast. We are honoured, thank you to everyone for their support!”

It has been another outstanding year for women’s sporting achievements across the board, from the Roses’ history-making exploits, to the FA Women’s Super League launching a new full-time fully professional structure, and Great Britain running to victory in the women’s 4x100m relay final in the European Championships in Berlin.

The England team will come together once again as a squad in January in the Vitality Netball International Series, as part of the Netball Quad Series, which will be the last time they compete together before the Vitality Netball World Cup in July 2019.

Courtesy of England Netball