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…
