Naomi Osaka, Emma Raducanu, Amanda Anisimova, Paula Badosa: Which WTA players made big ranking moves in 2024?
Published 26/11/2024 at 14:20 GMT
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Aryna Sabalenka was the standout player of the 2024 WTA Tour season as she won the Australian Open, US Open and reached world No. 1. But who were the players who made significant moves up the rankings? Among them were Naomi Osaka, who returned to the tour after giving birth last summer, Emma Raducanu, who impressed at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, and Amanda Anisimova.
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The 2024 WTA Tour season is finished.Â
Aryna Sabalenka won two of the four Grand Slams and ended as year-end No. 1, while Iga Swiatek ended with the most titles (five).
Coco Gauff ended her season with victory at the WTA Finals and Jasmine Paolini led Italy to victory at the Billie Jean King Cup.
But which players made the most notable jumps up the rankings in 2024?
Naomi Osaka (UNRANKED to No. 59)
Returning to the tour after giving birth in July 2023, Naomi Osaka showed flashes of her best across the season.
Her best tournament runs were quarter-finals at Doha and 's-Hertogenbosch, and making the last 16 in Rome and Beijing.
She also nearly pulled off a huge upset at the French Open as she held a match point against eventual winner Iga Swiatek.
Osaka’s season ended early due to injury but she enters 2025 working with Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Emma Raducanu (No. 285 to No. 58)
Emma Raducanu has said she feels in a "good spot" heading into 2025 and it’s not difficult to see why.
After missing most of 2023 due to injuries, she posted some strong results this year, especially on grass and in the Billie Jean King Cup, where she went 5-0 for Great Britain.
There was disappointment that she didn’t play more in the hard-court summer and then missed most of the Asia swing due to a foot issue, but she looks to be trending upwards heading into the new year.
"I know I'm a dangerous player. I know no one wants to pull my name in the draw," she said at the BJK Cup Finals.
"I take pride in that, and I'm looking forward to hopefully staying on court longer next year."
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Emma Raducanu of Great Britain celebrates
Image credit: Getty Images
Amanda Anisimova (No. 359 to No. 36)
After taking an eight-month mental health break in 2023, Amanda Anisimova made a successful return this season.
The American reached the last 16 of the Australian Open and her biggest career final at the WTA 1000 Canadian Open, where she beat four top-10 seeds in a row, including Sabalenka in straight sets.
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"I took the break last year, I stepped away from the sport, and probably not a lot of people knew how I would come back or results I would be having. I didn’t either, nobody could predict that.
"I put the work in, I kept my head down, and I tried to come back to the sport with more of a relaxed feeling, trying to enjoy each day as it comes and not being so serious about everything, because I think that takes away the joy from a lot of things. I think with that kind of approach to my everyday life, I think that’s helped me a lot."
Lulu Sun (No. 219 to No. 40)
What a year it was for New Zealand’s Lulu Sun, who was playing third-tier ITF events in the clay swing.
She then went on to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon as a qualifier, beating eighth seed Zheng Qinwen in the first round and Emma Raducanu in the last 16.
She followed up by making the last 32 in Cincinnati as a qualifier and reaching the final of the WTA 500 in Monterrey.
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Image credit: Getty Images
Paula Badosa (No. 66 to No .12)
Paula Badosa revealed in April that she had been told by doctors it was "complicated" to continue her career due to a back issue and she may only be able to play for a few more years.
The former world No. 2 had fallen out of the top 100 and had to withdraw from three matches early in the season.
But she enjoyed a resurgent summer as she won the Citi Open, reached the Cincinnati semi-finals and US Open quarters.
She also had deep runs in Beijing and Ningbo as she continued to climb the rankings and almost secure a return to the top 10.
Danielle Collins (No. 55 to No. 11)
It was supposed to be a farewell season for Danielle Collins, who revealed earlier in the year that she intended to retire to try and start a family.Â
However, the 30-year-old reversed the decision due to the "massive challenge" of endometriosis, which can affect fertility.
Collins had enjoyed the best season of her career, lifting her first WTA 1000 title in Miami in March and backing it up immediately by winning in Charleston.
In August she was back in the top 10 for the first time in two years, but she didn’t play again on the WTA Tour after a fourth straight loss at the start of September.
She will be hopeful of rediscovering her early-season form in 2025.
Rebecca Sramkova (No.129 to No.43)
Rebecca Sramkova moved up 87 spots in 2024, largely on the back of a strong finish to the season.
She won her first WTA title at the Thailand Open in September and then made the last 32 in Beijing.
She was also a runner-up at Jiujiang and Monastir as she won 19 of her 23 matches after the US Open.
Sramkova finished by fighting back from a set down to beat Katie Boulter and help Slovakia reach the Billie Jean King Cup final.
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