Emma Raducanu says she accomplished something "pretty unheard of" this season and therefore believes that she has zero reason not to think that it was a successful year for her and a good foundation for the future.
As you probably know, the British tennis star missed the entire second part of 2023 after undergoing surgeries on both wrists and her foot. While she was able to start her post-surgery comeback in the first week of 2024, she ended up playing only 13 WTA tournaments.
In limited actions, Raducanu still managed to reach her first WTA semifinal since 2022 - made the second week at a Grand Slam for the first time since 2021 - and also clinched her first two wins against top-10 players.
Early in her return, the 22-year-old was ranked around No. 300 in the world. Today, she sits at No. 58 in the world.
For the Asian swing, the Briton had big plans and made the quarterfinal at the WTA 500 tournament in Seoul in mid-October. But then, she picked up an unfortunate ligament injury and didn't play again until returning to action at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Had Raducanu stayed healthy and played five tournaments in Asia as she wanted, she could have easily now been ranked inside the top-30 or even top-20.
And after also clinching back-to-back straight-set wins against German Jule Niemeier and Canada's Rebecca Marino in Malaga, the former world No. 10 warns she is "a dangerous player."
"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.
Raducanu has a clear vision for the next month and plan for 2025
After arriving in Malaga, the 2021 US Open champion confirmed rumors that she was looking to hire Maria Sharapova's ex-fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura. Then, she highlighted that she wants to focus on getting stronger in the offseason and hopefully play a lot more next season.
"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.
"While it's the end of the season for a lot of players, I feel I'm just beginning to kick-start and get things in motion, training really well, training hard, and already building towards next year. I'm not really looking to have any more time off. I'm just looking forward to competing here this week and taking however this goes and improving on it for next year."
WTA icon backed Raducanu tosucceed if she stays healthy
WTA founder Billie Jean King thinks there are two key things to the 22-year-old fulfilling her potential and talent to the fullest - that is staying healthy but also remaining patient and trusting the process.
"If she can stay healthy long enough, then we'll see how good she is. But if you keep getting injured, you never get that momentum going. If you've been injured - really injured - I always want to give a player at least a year and a half to recover. It takes a lot to come back from injury and you have got to be very patient," King told BBC Sport last week.
Last week, the ASB Classic organizers announced that the 2021 US Open winner signed up to start her 2025 season in the first week of the new year in New Zealand. As it stands now, the Briton will play at least two tournaments in January - Auckland and the Australian Open.
But right now, Raducanu's full focus is on the Billie Jean King Cup, where she and Co. are set to battle Slovakia for a final spot.
