Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu are part of a star-studded lineup for the WTA comeback player of the year. There are five nominees in total.
Naomi Osaka returned to tennis after being on maternity leave for the entire 2023 season. The Japanese star had also struggled with form and mental health issues throughout 2022.
That made Osaka's comeback a pretty daunting prospect. Some struggles were inevitable, and the four-time Grand Slam champion has been inconsistent throughout 2024.
However, the 27-year-old also deserves credit for her impressive performances this season. That includes one of the best matches of 2024 at the French Open against Iga Swiatek, the best clay court player in the world.
Despite clay being her least successful surface, Osaka produced a stunning display of powerful hitting and held a match point. But Swiatek somehow clawed her way back from the brink to prevail and went on to win her fourth French Open title.
Osaka's season ended frustratingly. She missed the Billie Jean King Cup Finals and most of the Asian swing after sustaining a back injury against Coco Gauff at the China Open. However, Osaka expects to be fit for the start of the 2025 season.
Raducanu finished 2024 at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. She had been out for almost two months before that after spraining ligaments in her foot at the Korea Open against Daria Kasatkina.
The 2021 US Open champion returned from nine months out with severe wrist and ankle injuries at the start of the season. Both those injuries required surgeries, increasing the time she spent on the sidelines.
Some of the highlights of Raducanu's comeback this year were leading Great Britain to the Davis Cup Finals with two outstanding victories away from home in France and reaching the semifinals of the Nottingham Open.
Raducanu also won all three of her matches at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals without dropping a set, but Team Great Britain agonizingly missed out on the final after losing 2-1 to Slovakia.
Karolina Muchova did not play a match until the grass court season. The Czech was injured for over nine months from the 2023 US Open until that point with a serious wrist injury that also required surgery.
Her swift return to form was stunning. After losing to Qinwen Zheng in the Palermo Open final, Muchova came agonizingly close to reaching the US Open final. She led Jessica Pegula by a set and a break, but the American recovered and triumphed.
Last year's French Open finalist was then the runner-up to Coco Gauff at the China Open. Unfortunately, her season ended after a recurrence of her wrist problem at the Ningbo Open.
Paula Badosa missed all tournaments in 2023 after Wimbledon with a chronic back problem. After a mixed start to her comeback, she returned to form during the North American hardcourt season by reaching the Cincinnati Open semifinal and US Open quarterfinal.
The Spaniard also progressed to the semifinal of the China Open before finishing 2024 with a Billie Jean King Cup Finals loss to Iga Swiatek. Afterward, Badosa accused Swiatek of ruining her birthday.
Amanda Anisimova's best moment was an unexpected run to the Canadian Open final. Her compatriot Pegula needed to play a superb final set to triumph in Toronto.
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