Paula Badosa Wins 2024 WTA Comeback Player Of Year Ahead Of Osaka And Raducanu
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Paula Badosa made a stunning return to form in 2024, and the Spaniard's efforts earned her the WTA Comeback Player of the Year Award, beating others like Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu to the honor.
Badosa returned at the start of 2024 after missing all the post-Wimbledon tournaments in 2023 with a back injury. Understandably, the Spaniard struggled for consistency in the first few months of her comeback.
There were some positive signs, including Badosa competing well in matches against the eventual year-end No. 1 and her close friend Aryna Sabalenka, indicating her capability.
However, Badosa's inconsistency in the year's opening months meant 2024 looked like it might be a transition season before attempting to regroup and have more success throughout 2025.
Ironically, the former world No. 2 played her best tennis during the season she missed last year. Badosa's decision to skip the Olympics was vindicated when she won the Citi Open in Washington.
The Spaniard's run in the American capital included a dramatic quarterfinal triumph against former US Open champion Emma Raducanu and another three-set victory in the final against gritty Marie Bouzkova.
That was followed almost two weeks later by reaching the semifinal of the Cincinnati Open and quarterfinal of the US Open. Badosa lost to the Americans Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro, respectively.
Although she had another impressive tournament at the China Open in Beijing a few weeks after the US Open, Badosa missed a golden opportunity to make a WTA 1000 final. The 27-year-old led the eventual champion Coco Gauff by a set and a break but ended up losing.
Badosa's happiness about her return to form came to a sudden halt after a hugely controversial incident. Her coach, Pol Toledo, shared a picture of the Citi Open champion squinting her eyes with chopsticks, a gesture often done to mock Asian people.
Although she initially apologized for the incident, Badosa later slammed those criticizing her as bullies after many expressed unhappiness about the WTA star jokingly telling Toledo not to post anything that could get her in trouble again.
Badosa and Magda Linette, who joked about the COVID-19 pandemic at the Wuhan Open, were recently given a stern warning by the WTA, which is heavily reliant on investment from China.
After citing an illness as the reason for missing the rest of the Asian swing(many feel it was due to the controversial incident from Beijing), Badosa ended the 2024 season with a defeat on her birthday against Iga Swiatek at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
The other nominees were Osaka, Raducanu, Karolina Muchova, and Amanda Anisimova. In her first year back after maternity leave, Osaka defeated players like Ons Jabeur and Jelena Ostapenko.
Raducanu managed great wins in Great Britain's run to the Billie Jean King Cup semifinal after missing nine months of 2023 with wrist and ankle injuries. She recently hired Osaka's former fitness trainer and wants to become one of the best athletes in the world.
Muchova returned from almost nine months out during the grass court season and reached the US Open semifinals. Anisimova was on hiatus in 2023 but reached the Canadian Open final in Toronto.
