Emma Raducanu thought she pulled off something that was “unheard of” but the WTA still decided to name Paula Badosa as the WTA Comeback Player of the Year.
In May 2023, the Briton was just 20 when she had to surgically repair both wrists and her foot. Undergoing three surgeries at such a young age is never ideal and it only got more complicated when reports started to emerge that the 2021 US Open champion was facing setbacks in her recovery.
While Raducanu later herself confirmed that there were some problems, she managed to kick off her comeback in the first week of 2024. In the end, she ended up playing a total of 13 tournaments and some of her results included a semifinal at the WTA 250 tournament in Nottingham and also making the Wimbledon round-of-16. Also, she earned her first two top-10 wins over Jessica Pegula and Maria Sakkari and also finished the year ranked at No. 57 after being ranked at No. 303 at one point.
After collecting some notable results and also winning all three of her Billie Jean King Cup Finals matches in Malaga to cap off the year in a positive way, Raducanu claimed she was pretty satisfied with what she was able to do.
“Yeah, I think I started the year off pretty well for the first half, you know up to Wimbledon. Then I struggled a little bit more with my body I think physically. Wasn’t able to play the full calendar and stay on court as much as I would have liked. But my assessment is, you, I think sometimes I need reminding, I’m top 60 in the world and I have played less than 15 events, which is pretty unheard of, in a way. I have to pat myself on the back for that. I know I’m a dangerous player. I know no one wants to pull my names in the draw. I take pride in that, and I’m looking forward to hopefully staying on court longer next year,” Raducanu assessed.
Emma Raducanu© LTA/Instagram – Fair Use
Raducanu was then named a candidate for the WTA Comeback Player of the Year
To no one’s surprise, the former world No. 10 found herself in contention to win the award for the best comeback in 2024. Her rivals for the award were Badosa, Naomi Osaka, Karolina Muchova and Amanda Anisimova.
On Monday, the WTA announced the recipients for this year’s awards and the 2021 US Open champion didn’t get the award for which she had a shot.
Instead, it was Badosa – who had a very strong second half of the season and arguably had the best case for the Comeback Player of the Year.
For context, the Spaniard shut down her 2023 season after Wimbledon due to a back injury. Earlier this year, her issue was diagnosed as chronic and some doctors even advised her to end her career. But she refused to do so.
Early in 2024, Badosa struggled with her consistency. But then, she won the WTA 500 tournament in Washington and also reached the semifinals in Cincinnati, Beijing and Ningbo. Also, she reached the quarterfinal stage at the US Open and finished at No. 12 after being ranked outside the top-100 at one point this year.
While there was no doubt that Raducanu enjoyed a solid comeback, it was hard to beat out the former world No. 2 and her achievements in the latter stages of this season.
Raducanu has one clear goal in her mind
The 22-year-old may have played just 13 tournaments this year but it should be noted that she also missed some tournaments due to precautionary reasons.
Now in the offseason, she hired Maria Sharapova’s former strength and conditioning coach Yutaka Nakamura as she wants to further improve her strength and be able to play much more next year.
“I think my goal next year is to stay on court longer. This year I came to top 60 in the world, but I played I think less than 15 events. I know if I’m on court and healthy and competing, I can go even higher and further. I think that my athleticism is a strength of mine, but it’s nowhere near its full potential. I’m just looking forward to exploring that further, and ready to commit to doing that,” Raducanu said in Malaga.
Also, she remarked that she believes she could become “one of the best athletes” under the guidance of Nakamura.
“I think it’s a big strength of mine that I have nowhere near fulfilled. I think I can become one of the best athletes out there in tennis and I’m just looking forward to seeing how much I can do,” the Briton said.
Raducanu’s 2025 season starts in Auckland between December 30 – January 05.
Tennis World USA