Ranked! The 9 most improved WTA players of 2024 – ft. Paolini, Qinwen, Andreeva
Plenty of players made huge strides on the WTA Tour in 2024, but some perhaps made bigger leaps than most.
Factoring in ranking rises, titles won, the size of titles won, and performances on tennis’ biggest stages, here’s our countdown of the nine most improved WTA players of the past season.
9) Olga Danilovic
Former prodigy Danilovic began showing signs of her long-talked-about potential with a significant rise in 2024.
After ending 2023 down at 116th, the Serbian finishes 2024 as the world No 53, with a run to the fourth round of Roland Garros as a qualifier and a second WTA title in Guangzhou among her biggest results.
8) Rebecca Sramkova
Having never reached a WTA-level final before 2024, Slovakian star Sramkova made three finals in the space of two months in a late surge this season.
Sramkova won her maiden WTA title in Hua Hin and was also the runner-up in Monastir and Jiangxi, ending 2024 at 43rd in the rankings after starting the season down at 129th.
7) Katie Boulter
After ending an encouraging 2023 at 56th in the WTA Rankings, Boulter continued to thrive in 2024 with a career-best season for the British star.
The 28-year-old won the biggest title of her career in San Diego and successfully defended her Nottingham title, with a run to the final in Hong Kong helping her end the year as the world No 24.
6) Anna Kalinskaya
Kalinskaya is yet to win a WTA singles title, but the Russian was undoubtedly one of the most improved players of the season.
The 25-year-old began the year as the world No 77 but a run to the Australian Open quarter-final, coupled with finals in Dubai and Berlin, see her finish the year at 14th in the WTA Rankings.
5) Mirra Andreeva
Following on from her 2023 breakthrough, teen star Andreeva continued to impress as surged from 46th to 16th in the rankings across the year.
Most notably, the 17-year-old reached her first Grand Slam semi-final at the French Open, while she won her first title in Iasi and reached a further final in Ningbo.
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4) Diana Shnaider
Only Iga Swiatek won more titles than Shnaider in 2024, with the young Russian lifting an impressive four titles across a breakthrough season.
The 20-year-old triumphed in Hua Hin, Bad Homburg, Budapest, and Hong Kong, and reached the second week of the US Open, helping her rise from world No 60 to world No 13 by the end of 2024.
3) Emma Navarro
One of the biggest US talking points of 2024 was the rise of Navarro, who consistently impressed throughout the season.
Navarro won her first WTA title at the beginning of the season in Hobart and then continually improved at the Grand Slams, culminating in runs to a Wimbledon quarter-final and US Open semi-final.
After ending 2023 as the world No 38, the 23-year-old is now eighth in the world and is set to be a leading seed at the Australian Open next year.
2) Zheng Qinwen
After rising to world No 15 by the end of 2023, Chinese star Qinwen established herself as a leading WTA force in 2024 thanks to a landmark season.
Qinwen stunned the tennis world by winning Olympic gold in Paris, just months after reaching her first major final at the Australian Open.
The 22-year-old won further titles in Palermo and Tokyo and was the runner-up in Wuhan and the WTA Finals, finishing the year as the world No 5.
1) Jasmine Paolini
Topping our countdown is Paolini, whose rise in 2024 was among the very biggest surprises of the past 12 months.
Having only won four Grand Slam matches before the year, the Italian reached the French Open and Wimbledon finals – and also made the second week in New York and Melbourne.
A run to the WTA 1000 title in Dubai helped cement the 28-year-old’s rise, and she finished 2024 as the fourth-best player in the world after starting the year just inside the top 30.
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