Little fan proposes to tennis star Emma Raducanu during a match and it's so adorable

Emma Raducanu is undoubtedly an eminent tennis player, reaching a career-high singles ranking of No.19 and being the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Virginia Wade at the 1977 Wimbledon Championships. In 2021, the British sensation was invited to play an exhibition match at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall.

She garnered international recognition and even received a marriage proposal from one of her fans. During the game, the 20-year-old athlete, who won the women’s singles tennis title at the 2021 U.S. Open, heard someone from the stands shout, “Emma, will you marry me?”

The question was popped by 8-year-old Leo Gomez-Franqueira, a young tennis fan and child prodigy from London. Raducanu briefly stopped her serve and flashed a smile to the boy. The heartwarming moment has now resurfaced on social media, where you can watch the delight of everyone as the proposal was made. While the video was posted on Franqueira's Instagram profile in November 2021, it recently gained traction after multiple reshares by social media users across various online platforms.

The viral video was shared to TikTok by ESPN and amassed over 1.3 million likes. "Bro has more confidence than Arsenal winning the premier league trophy," said @jrzaki4. "Bro has more confidence than the entire Chelsea team," added @ko_fi1. "Didn't know that children nowadays take marriage more seriously than the ones supposed to," joked @headmasterhd888.

Meanwhile, @bobosabiology brought up a similar incident with former professional German tennis player Steffi Graf in 1996. Graf has had a stellar career throughout her life, winning 22 Grand Slam titles, leaving her third on the all-time list behind Margaret Court and Serena Williams.

Seven of those titles came at SW19, the last of which was in 1996 when she beat Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the final. During her semi-finals in 96', she had to tackle a risky question, and not from opponent Kimiko Date, but from an anonymous male fan in the crowd who tried his luck by proposing to Graff, reported The Daily Star.

"Steffi, will you marry me?" came a loud echo from the stands. Instead of being flustered by the sudden question, Graf had the perfect response to her fan. "How much money do you have?" she asked back, eliciting peals of laughter from the crowd. The moment went viral and remains a historically comical moment in Wimbledon's history. Like any professional, Graf didn't allow the incident to derail her concentration, and she eventually came through a tough contest 6-2 2-6 6-3, before beating her Spanish rival 6-3 7-5 in the final. Unfortunately for the love-struck fan, his luck failed him and Graf married fellow tennis star Andre Agassi in 2001.

The video was shared on YouTube in 2017 and has garnered over 13 million views. "I love how she has the response in her head, waits for the crowd to be quiet, then laughs at her own joke before saying it. Then marries rich man, Andre Agassi," commented @stillbuyingcds.

"She is actually choosing correct words without offending and making the situation lighter. Brilliant like her game," added @geethasrinivas. "Accidental brilliant comedic timing. The wait before the answer, allowing the audience to quiet down and anxiously await a response - magnificent," wrote @KryzMasta. "This is the shortest, most honest version of marriage proposals," said @suyashjain09.