Emma Raducanu has lived through the most challenging few weeks of her career, with the tennis world questioning her decisions over the course of a hectic summer.
Her decision to opt out of playing qualifying for the French Open was backed up by a move to turn down the chance to represent Great Britain at the Olympic Games.
That call was made so she could focus her attention on the US hard court swing, but that backfired as she ended up playing just one warm-up event ahead of the US Open.
Once again, her decision to pull out of qualifying for the WTA 1000 event in Toronto backfired and she didn’t make an attempt to get a wildcard into the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati.
Her first round defeat against Sofia Kenin at the US Open sparked plenty of criticism for the 21-year-old, but she now has a big chance to finish 2024 on a real high.
Here is a five-point plan that could propel Raducanu back into the top 30 of the WTA Rankings heading into 2025.
KOREAN DELIGHT
Raducanu played in only her second tournament on the WTA Tour since she reached the quarter-finals at Eastbourne in June as she won her first round match at the Korean Open on Tuesday.
Raducanu battled to victory over American Peyton Stearns in the opening round of the Korea Open.
A topsy-turvy contest featuring 12 breaks of serve eventually went the way of the former US Open champion after two hours and 43 minutes as she wrapped up a 7-6(4), 7-6 (5) win in Seoul.
It was inevitable that Raducanu was a little rusty given that she has only played four competitive matches since Wimbledon heading to Korea, but two more wins in Seoul could take her back into the top 50.
WHAT NEEDS TO IMPROVE?
Raducanu has been struggling with her serve in recent tournaments.
That may be due to a lack of match practice, as any athlete will confirm practice time is very different to competitive action.
Raducanu threw in eight double faults against Stearns and won only 35% of her second serve points.
She was broken six times and had to fight hard to get the win, but a higher-quality opponent may not have given Raducanu so many unforced errors at key moments.
Raducanu’s US Open success in 2021 came after she played a run of matches leading up to the tournament in New York and she has done that in the three years since that amazing win.
If she can do that over the next few weeks, it will be fascinating to see where she is by the end of October.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
Raducanu’s improving ranking means she should get into more tournaments without the need to play qualifying and she should be able to chase big ranking points against.
She could play in the WTA 1000 tournaments in Beijing and Wuhan and a couple of wins in those two events could propel Raducanu comfortably into the top 50 of the WTA Rankings for the first time in a couple of years.
Raducanu could also enter the WTA 500 tournament in Tokyo in late October to end her year on the WTA Tour.
NATIONAL SERVICE
Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter are set to lead Great Britain at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga in November.
Both have been named in the team for the event, which takes place from November 13 to 20, along with Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and doubles specialist Olivia Nicholls.
Britain open their campaign against Germany on November 15, with the winners to face defending champions Canada in the quarter-finals.
Raducanu starred in the qualifiers in April, winning two matches as Britain upset France on clay, and is part of a strong leading pair along with 36th-ranked Boulter.
Britain reached the semi-finals two years ago but needed a wild card into the Finals as hosts in Glasgow, and this is the first time they have qualified on merit since the current format was introduced.
FINAL TARGET
Where could Raducanu be ranked at the end of this year?
It is easy to forget that this time last year, Raducanu was recovering from major surgery on both her wrists and her ankle.
She made her first tentative steps back onto the court in January in New Zealand, with the inconsistency she has displayed this year predictable given her long time away from the court.
If anyone had suggested she would climb from well outside the top 200 of the WTA Rankings and back into the top 30 by the end of 2024, that would have been viewed as a remarkable achievement.
The frustration for some observers is that Raducanu could have been even better placed if she had managed her schedule a little better ahead of the US Open.
She has hinted that her reluctance to play in qualifying for big tournaments was a mistake and she has also hinted that outside pressures may have played a part in her lack of activity in August.
Now she appears to have her focus back on the big goals and with plenty to target over the next few weeks, it could be a big end to 2024 for one of the most talked about players in the women’s game.
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