Slam success & ranking rises - how British tennis thrived in 2024

This year has been a coming of age for Jack Draper.

His US Open semi-final run drew the attention of a wider audience, but that breakthrough had been months in the making.

In June, the 23-year-old left-hander won his first ATP Tour title in Stuttgart and became the new British men's number one.

That led to a career-best major performance in New York, breaking into the world's top 20 and winning his biggest career title in Vienna.

Becoming better equipped physically to deal with the rigours of the ATP Tour has been a key to his success, although he is still working on solving the issues that have led to on-court sickness.

"I feel like I've changed so much as a person in the last six months," Draper said.

"I'm hoping as time goes on I'll be able to manage these things better and become the player I want to be."

The legendary Billie Jean King recently said people should "pay more attention" to British women's number one Katie Boulter.

Boulter expressed her gratitude at being recognised by one of the sport's icons, adding she was happy to "fly under the radar".

Remarkably the 28-year-old is still able to do that, despite breaking into the world's top 25 and winning two WTA titles - including the biggest of her career so far.

What has stopped her gaining more attention is the lack of a deep run at a major. Another factor, perhaps, has been the interest in Emma Raducanu's comeback.

"I know I can get to where I want to," said Boulter, who did not reach the third round of a Grand Slam tournament in 2024.

"I'm not going to give you any numbers to tell you what my targets next year are, but I'm aiming high."

Eight years ago Henry Patten was working at Wimbledon as an IBM data collector on the outside courts.

Now, the 28-year-old is the SW19 men's doubles champion.

It has been a stunning rise for a player who began the year well outside the top 100 and had little ATP Tour pedigree.

Then he linked up with Finland's Harri Heliovaara. They claimed the title in Marrakech in their first tournament together, before triumphing in Lyon and Stockholm either side of Wimbledon.

"It has been a year of firsts and there are so many things which I'm proud we've been able to achieve," says Patten, who made his Davis Cup debut in September.

Few outside of British tennis circles would have heard of Jacob Fearnley or Sonay Kartal before this year.

Little over a year ago, 23-year-old Fearnley was unranked in the professional game. He finished the season as a top 100 player.

Winning four ATP Challenger titles led to the fifth biggest climb in the men's rankings since 2000.

Kartal's rise has also been sharp.

The 23-year-old began the year outside the top 250 and feared she would miss the rest of the season because of illness.

After several hospital visits, Kartal was given the go-ahead to return in April. Now the world number 85 is celebrating the best year of her career after winning a maiden WTA title.

Like Fearnley, the reward is direct entry into a Grand Slam main draw for the first time at the upcoming Australian Open.

The task for British tennis is developing the next generation of talent and avoiding another 35-year wait for a Grand Slam singles champion.

The performances of the British juniors this year - across singles, doubles and team events - have provided optimism.

Mika Stojsavljevic, who turned 16 last week, won the US Open girls' singles title, while 17-year-old Mimi Xu and 18-year-old Charlie Robertson reached the last four in New York.

Henry Searle, 18, who won the Wimbledon boys' singles in 2023, and 15-year-old Hannah Klugman, winner of the prestigious Orange Bowl junior championships last year, have continued making strides.

"Success in junior tennis is definitely a strong indicator of long-term potential but, of course, it is no guarantee," said Iain Bates, the LTA's head of women's tennis.

"Seeing younger players reaching the back end of junior Slams is a sign of the health of the pathway."