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Emma Raducanu, the 22-year-old British tennis player who won the 2021 US Open, is back inside the top 60 after a turbulent season ended on a high. Raducanu missed most of 2023 following surgery on both her wrists and left ankle. In April 2024, the player was ranked 303rd in the world, but now she is back on the upward trajectory. In an interview with BBC Sport, Raducanu revealed that she needed to remind herself of her accomplishments and recognize that she has performed well given the limited number of events she played this year.
Raducanu climbed almost 250 places, a feat that has only been surpassed by three WTA players: Japan’s Naomi Osaka, Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic, and American Amanda Anisimova. Speaking about her climb up the ranks, Raducanu said, “I have to pat myself on the back for that.” She progressed steadily rather than spectacularly in her comeback year, and the highlight of her season was the British grass season, which saw her runs to the Nottingham quarter-finals and Eastbourne semi-finals lead up to a heartening Wimbledon.
Although Raducanu ended the season on a high by winning all three of her matches, helping Britain reach the BJK Cup semi-finals, her season was far from smooth. Following her exit from the Wimbledon tournament, Raducanu played only once between early July and late August, leading to a rusty first-round exit in the US Open. A tearful admission followed, with the player saying that it was a “lesson learned.” Nevertheless, she looked set to set a new personal high of Tour-level matches played in one year, but a foot injury stopped her momentum.
Moving forward, Raducanu is focused on improving her athleticism and fitness, with renowned trainer Yutaka Nakamura, who previously worked with Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka, now supporting her team. Nick Cavaday, her childhood mentor, will continue his role as part of a tight-knit team, and the player hopes to turn her serve into a “weapon.” She believes that she can become one of the best athletes in tennis and that, going forward, her team is “on a journey of exploration.
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