5 WTA players with the biggest ranking jumps in 2024 ft. Naomi Osaka, Emma Raducanu
Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu saw massive ranking jumps in 2024. The high-profile duo was among the most improved players on the tour this year and found themselves inside the top 60 of the WTA ranking.
The 2024 WTA Tour drew to a close at the year-end championship in Riyadh in early November, with Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Zheng Qinwen, and Coco Gauff making up the majority of headlines with their performances on the court. Apart from the top 10 ranked players, there were many like Naomi Osaka who grabbed fans' attention with good performances and subsequent jumps in the WTA ranking.
With that said, let's take a look at five players who took the biggest leap in their WTA rankings this year:
#5 Lulu Sun
Lulu Sun was ranked World No. 214 at the end of the 2023 WTA Tour and jumped to 174 places on the WTA rankings in 12 months to become the World No. 40. After making her Grand Slam main draw debut at the Australian Open, the Kiwi played regularly on the ITF circuit until catching the eye of the tennis fans at the Wimbledon Championships.
As a qualifier, the 23-year-old defeated Zheng Qinwen, Yuliia Starodubtseva, Lin Zhu, and Emma Raducanu to become the first New Zealand woman to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Her dream run was ended by Donna Vekic.
After London, Sun finished runners-up at the WTA 500 Monterrey Open. The groundbreaking performances throughout the year helped the Kiwi win the prestigious Newcomer of the Year Award for 2024 at the WTA Player Awards.
#4 Caroline Wozniacki
After bidding farewell to tennis in 2020, Caroline Wozniacki surprisingly returned to the tour in 2023. She just played the North American hardcourt swing that year and jumped from unranked to World No. 249 on the WTA rankings. Wozniacki continued that stellar progress in 2024 and surged 186 more spots to finish the year at World No. 70.
The former Australian Open champion achieved a massive hike in her ranking thanks to a deep run at several big tournaments. She played her first WTA 1000 quarterfinals since returning to the tour at Indian Wells. In addition, she reached the third round at Wimbledon and the fourth round at the US Open.
#3 Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu has been hampered by injury since her improbable US Open triumph in 2022, and the 2024 season was no different. Despite foot and back injuries, the British star played 14 tournaments this year and rose 244 places in the WTA rankings (World No. 301 to World No. 57).
She reached the third round at the Indian Wells Open and quarterfinals at the Stuttgart Open before turning up the heat during grass court swing. Raducanu was a semifinalist at the Nottingham Open and reached the fourth round at Wimbledon. With quarterfinal runs at WTA 500 events in Washington DC and Seoul, the 22-year-old returned to the top 60 of the WTA rankings.
#2 Amanda Anisimova
Like Emma Raducanu, Amanda Anisimova has had her fair share of injuries over the last two years, but she persevered through them and made huge strides on the 2024 WTA Tour. The American began the year at World No. 373 and managed her best Grand Slam performance of the year at the Australian Open, reaching the fourth round.
After a few quiet months on the tour, Anisimova once again found her groove on hard courts, reaching the quarterfinals at the Citi Open and defeating four top 10 seeds to finish runners-up at the WTA 1000 Canadian Open. As a result, the 23-year-old rose 337 spots on the WTA rankings to end the 2024 season as the World No. 36.
#1 Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka had not played tennis for 15 months when she returned to the tour in 2024. She had become a mother during those 15 months. The Japanese star did not have much luck in the first few months back on tour as she was handed one tough opponent after another. In addition, Naomi Osaka also failed to reach the second week at any Grand Slam, famously losing to Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros.
However, the 27-year-old made her mark at several WTA 1000 tournaments throughout the year. Naomi Osaka was a quarterfinalist at the Qatar Open. She then reached the fourth round at the Italian Open and China Open and the third round at the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open.
With these results, Naomi Osaka went from being an unranked player to ending the 2024 season as the World No. 58.