"Praying Emma Raducanu can be comeback player of the year" - Former World No. 1 Mats Wilander hopeful of Brit's resurgence in 2025

Swedish tennis great Mats Wilander recently expressed his wish to see Britain's Emma Raducanu become the comeback player of 2025. Raducanu is currently the World No. 57 in the WTA singles rankings.

She won the US Open in 2021 but hasn't found a way to lift another trophy since then. Injuries and poor form have largely marred her career thus far, however, the Brit showed signs of improvement this year, reaching the Round of 16 at Wimbledon.

Furthermore, she played the semifinals in Nottingham and the quarterfinals in Stuttgart, Eastbourne, Washington, and Seoul.

In a recent Q&A with Eurosport, Mats Wilander, a seven-time Grand Slam champion and former World No. 1, backed Raducanu to do even better next year.

"Emma Raducanu. I’m hoping and praying that she can be the comeback player of the year," Wilander said in response to a question—'The biggest comeback on the women’s side?'

Laura Robson, the former WTA No. 27, echoed Wilander's opinion while replying to the same query.

"Why not Emma for 2025, comeback player of the year," Robson said.

---

Emma Raducanu: "I want to play more than I did this year"

Emma Raducanu (Getty)

Emma Raducanu has already begun her preparations for 2025. A couple of weeks ago, she hired fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura to tackle the injury woes that have affected her tennis in recent years.

Nakamura has already worked with the likes of Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka and the 22-year-old is hopeful of staying fit under her new trainer.

"I want to play more than I did this year," she said in an interview (via Eurosport). "I think now, with my set-up, I’m in a place where I can continue work on the road. So I don’t necessarily need to come back to continue good physical work. I can do it pretty much every day, like microdoses. And I think that’s actually going to be a great addition for me next year, which I’m excited about."

The Brit also understands that being healthy will propel her to greater heights in the tennis world.

"Also, with my tennis, I’m in a pretty good spot," she added. "I feel like I just want to see how much I can do, fulfil my potential. I’m curious about what my level can get to. I really want to play more. And I think a big part of that is just staying healthy."

Emma Raducanu is scheduled to start the 2025 season at the ASB Classic in New Zealand.