Jack Draper and Sonay Kartal crowned LTA Players of the Year as Emma Raducanu misses out

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) — the governing body of tennis in Great Britain — has announced its Players of the Year for 2025, naming Jack Draper and Sonay Kartal as the standout performers of the season, while Emma Raducanu was left out despite finishing the year as the highest-ranked British woman by a clear margin.

The awards are decided by the LTA’s Advantage Members and are based solely on results and achievements across the professional tennis tours — including the ATP, WTA, ITF and Wheelchair Tennis circuits — throughout the 2025 season.

The men’s award went to 24-year-old Jack Draper, who claimed his first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells and finished runner-up in both Madrid and Doha. The Brit ended the season ranked world No. 10, despite barely competing during the second half of the year. In terms of ranking, he finished well ahead of Cameron Norrie (world No. 27), nearly doubling his compatriot’s ATP points tally over the course of the season.

However, Draper’s season came to an early end due to injuries that began during the grass-court swing midway through the year. After reaching the semifinals at the Queen’s Club Championships, he arrived at Wimbledon with physical issues and was eliminated in the second round by Marin Cilic.

He then took several months off, returning at the US Open — where he later retired shortly after winning his first-round match. That proved to be his final appearance of the season, as he did not compete again and has already postponed his comeback several times. Heading into 2026, Draper has confirmed he will miss the Australian Open, leaving uncertainty around his return date.

On the women’s side, it came as a surprise that Emma Raducanu was not named Player of the Year. While the former US Open champion is still searching for her first WTA final since her breakthrough, she managed to finish the season ranked No. 29 — her best year-end ranking since 2021 — and ended the year as British No. 1 for the second time in her career.

Instead, the award went to Sonay Kartal, the 24-year-old who closed the year ranked world No. 68. Among her standout results were a quarterfinal appearance at the WTA 1000 China Open and fourth-round runs at tournaments such as Indian Wells and Wimbledon — where she was the only British player to reach the last 16.

There was little debate in the doubles category, where the award went to Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool. The pair won six titles during the 2025 season and reached four additional finals. Glasspool finished the year as world No. 1 in doubles, with Cash ranked No. 2.

Their achievements included titles at Wimbledon and the Canadian Open Masters 1000, as well as three ATP 500 trophies. They also reached three more Masters 1000 finals and the semifinals of the ATP Finals.

In the wheelchair category, the award went to Alfie Hewett, who captured the Australian Open titles in both singles and doubles at the start of the year. He repeated as doubles champion at the French Open — partnering Gordon Reid on both occasions — and finished runner-up in singles at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon.