This week, the WTA announced nominees for multiple awards they hand out after every season. And in one category, two former Grand Slam champions found their place.
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When it comes to Osaka, she missed the entire 2023 season due to pregnancy. After returning at the start of 2024, the former world No. 1 had her best result at the WTA 1000 tournament in Doha, where she reached the quarterfinal.
While the 27-year-old enjoyed a great week in Doha, one thing about her comeback that probably stuck into the minds of tennis fans is her French Open second-round meeting against Iga Swiatek. In her first Roland Garros as a mother, Osaka nearly became the first player since 2021 to beat the Pole in Paris. Unfortunately for the four-time Grand Slam champion, she ultimately fell just short after blowing a 5-2 third-set lead and a match point. However, it was still a highly impressive performance that reminded of her best days.
In October, Osaka reached the round-of-16 at the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing and was up by a set and a break against Coco Gauff before a back injury forced her to retire. Sadly, the Japanese didn’t get to play in any other tournaments in the rest of the season. In the end, she finished with a 22-18 record in 2024 and got to No. 59 in the rankings.
On the other side, Raducanu played in just five tournaments last year before undergoing surgeries on both wrists and her foot in 2023 May.
After kicking off her comeback in the first week of 2024, the Briton made her first semifinal since 2022 in Nottingham – clinched her first two top-10 wins – and also reached the Wimbledon round-of-16, which marked her first second week at a Grand Slam since 2021. Also, the 22-year-old gained around 250 spots on the WTA rankings and is set to enter 2025 as world No. 58.
Besides Osaka and Raducanu, Paula Badosa, Karolina Muchova and Amanda Anisimova were also nominated for the WTA Comeback Player of the Year award.
