Currently ranked at No. 29 in the world, Raducanu has already achieved her goal, despite going 2-4 in matches during the Asian swing.
It’s been a big effort from the Brit, who started 2025 ranked outside of the world’s top 60, and sat outside of the top 300 when she returned from a long injury layoff at the beginning of 2024.
Raducanu’s rise is largely down to the efforts she made to pack her schedule. In previous years, the world No. 29 had faced some criticism when she decided to miss tournaments in favour of a training block.
But she prioritised match play this season, and it paid off in the rankings. Raducanu played 51 matches in 2025, her most in a single season, and won 28 of them.
Her best showing came in Washington, where she reached the semi-finals before losing to Anna Kalinskaya. The British No. 1 also broke new ground at the Miami Open back in March, reaching the quarter-final of a WTA 1000 event for the first time in her career.
Raducanu has also taken care of her coaching situation ahead of the off-season. The year started on a tough note when Nick Cavaday, her coach of 14 months, stepped back for health reasons.
The 22-year-old turned to some old mentors and had brief trials, but nothing seemed to stick until she reunited with Mark Petchey in Miami. A full-time commentator for Tennis Channel, Petchey spent a few months coaching Raducanu while juggling his punditry job.
But Raducanu sought a more permanent solution, and Rafael Nadal’s old mentor, Francis Roig, joined her team in the summer through to the end of the year.
The Spanish tennis coach has now agreed to extend their partnership into next season, and they are already planning an pre-season training block.
Raducanu’s off-season might be here a few weeks earlier than hoped, but the Brit ends the year in a much better place than she started it, and has laid down the foundations for a promising 2026.