Emma Raducanu Has Been Backed to be the Come Back Player of the Year for the 2025 Season by Tennis Experts Mats Wilander and Laura Robson

Emma Raducanu has been backed to be the “comeback player of the year” for the 2025 season by tennis experts Mats Wilander and Laura Robson.

The 2021 US Open winner finished the 2024 season as the world No 57, having started the year ranked outside the top 300.

She played the last match of her 2023 campaign in April as she had to undergo surgeries on both wrists and her ankle in May.

Raducanu amassed a 21-13 record across the 13 ranking tournaments and three Billie Jean King Cup matches she played this year.

The Brit’s standout 2024 result was her run to the fourth round at Wimbledon, while she reached the semi-finals in Nottingham and the quarter-finals in Stuttgart, Eastbourne, Washington and Seoul.

The 22-year-old was hampered by injuries towards the end of the season as she was forced to pull out of five WTA Tour events during the Asian swing Beijing, Wuhan, Ningbo, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

Raducanu has sought to address her fitness issues by hiring Yutaka Nakamura, an esteemed physical trainer who previously worked with tennis greats Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka.

Speaking at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga last month, Raducanu outlined her intention to improve her physical durability.

“I think my goal next year is to stay on court longer,” the former world No 10 told the media.

“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.”

Asked which player will make “the biggest comeback” on the women’s tour in 2025, Eurosport experts Wilander and Robson named Raducanu.

Wilander “Emma Raducanu. I’m hoping and praying that she can be the comeback player of the year.”

Robson “Why not Emma for 2025, comeback player of the year.”

Alex Corretja and Tim Henman, meanwhile, believe former world No 4 Belinda Bencic will have a resurgent season.

Bencic, a former US Open semi-finalist and winner of eight WTA titles, returned to the tour in October six months after giving birth to her daughter.