Raducanu started 2024 outside of the world’s top 300 after undergoing surgery on both of her wrists and her left ankle the previous year, but ended the campaign inside the top-60 despite another injury-plagued season.
The former US Open champion won 20 of her 33 matches in 2024, where she was sidelined with a foot injury for two months before making a winning return at the Billie Jean King Cup finals
Raducanu said after representing Great Britain that she is “excited and itching” for 2025, with Henman hoping to see the 22-year-old stay fit and play a full WTA Tour schedule next season.
“I think the challenge for Raducanu is around physical resilience,” Henman told the Sky Sports Tennis podcast.
You talk about Katie Boulter and all the improvements that she made. Yes, she has got better as a tennis player, her movement has improved, but it’s also the resilience to be able to play that full schedule.
“You saw Katie at the end of the year playing four or five tournaments in a row. She made a final in Hong Kong, at the last event of the year and finished in the top 25.
Raducanu has had a decent year going from sort of 300 into the top 60 but, when you look at the amount of tennis she’s played, she hasn’t played a great deal. If she builds up that resilience, every time she steps on the court, she was playing good tennis.
target for Boulter?
Boulter claimed her first WTA 500 title with victory at the San Diego Open earlier in the year and retained her Nottingham Open title in the summer, having beaten Raducanu in the semi-finals, then reached a career-high in the WTA rankings after her run to the Hong Kong Open final.
The 28-year-old has still yet to progress beyond the third round of a Grand Slam and failed to get beyond the second round in any of the four majors this season, something Boulter will look to change in 2025.
British number one Katie Boulter faced Diana Shnaider in the final of the Hong Kong Open
“You still watch her and think there’s room for more improvement,” Henman added. She has played so well, competed so often to build that resilience and the match count.
“That [a Grand Slam run] takes, you know, your game and your stature within the sport to a different level and that’s definitely what I’d like to see from Katie Boulter in 2025.”
