With the conclusion of all the tennis events at the Paris Olympics, now it’s time to take a look at the cat-and-mouse race before players turn on their full preparatory mode for the US Open. As per the Live WTA Rankings, there are quite a few players who have managed to leapfrog quite a few spots with their recent performances. Two of the most prominent names among those are Emma Raducanu and Paula Badosa!

Emma Raducanu was out for almost eight months due to her injuries. She returned to the tour in January, but the Brit struggled a bit with her performances in the first few tournaments of this year. However, she managed to pull things back on track in the later stages. So far, she has reached one SF and three QFs this season. She entered the Citi Open ranking World number 89, but her run to the QFs has now helped her jump to 20 spots above. Raducanu is currently ranked 69th (907 points) in the world.

Paula Badosa also had a similar season plagued with injuries and lack of form. However, in the Citi Open, she managed to beat the 2021 US Open champion, Raducanu, by 4-6,7-5,6-4 in just 2 hours 45 minutes. She, later on, went on to clinch her first title in over two years by defeating Marie Bouzkova in the finals of the same event. This is her fourth career Hologic WTA Tour title. She had won her last in 2022 in Sydney. Her incredible performance in Washington has now helped her climb up to 22 spots, ranking 40th (1440 points) in the world. What an entry to the Top 50!

If we take a look at other significant changes in the Live WTA Rankings, America’s Danielle Collins has been the one to watch out for this season. She has already won two titles this season, but her loss in the QF of the Paris Olympics singles event was a fair bit of disappointment for all the American fans. However, did it make any impact on her ranking? No, instead due to her incredible 35-12 win-loss record in the 2024 season, she has now moved to number 8 (3702 points) in the women’s singles rankings. That’s a small leap of one spot, but quite a significant one to boost up her confidence ahead of her home Slam.

For Collins, it may be just a slight movement toward the top of the table, but for the other two, this is huge! Here is what Raducanu and Badosa have set their eyes on this season!

Paula Badosa heaps praise on Emma Raducanu and also speaks on the importance of this recent triumph

Shortly after the QF match, Paul Badosa showered praise on one of her closest friends in the Tour. She said, “I was surprised how smart she is on the court and I like the way she plays.” Badosa said Emma Raducanu took her to the limit in all the aspects of the game, be it mentally, physically, or tennis-wise. Both the tennis stars opted to stay out of the Olympics to concentrate on the hard-court swing and this rise in the rankings will now surely boost their confidence.

Badosa has entered the Top 50 for the first time since August of last year. After winning the final, the 26-year-old revealed that she wanted this “really badly“. She further went on to add, “One year ago I was on the couch. So it’s a big difference now. Now I’m an athlete again.” With this emphatic triumph, she has now become hungry to win more titles and make a significant cover up for her lost time.

For Raducanu, the goal of the 2024 season is to develop her game and become a better player. She has revealed that she would love to win a title of any grade, but at the same time she said, “I don’t want to make up for lost time from last year by only playing tournaments.” All she now wants is to stay fit and build a “concrete foundation” to be in good playing and physical shape over the next few years.