sport news Jadon Sancho, Emma Raducanu and Lewis Hamilton - stars who desperately need to ... trends now

As 2022 draws to a close many athletes will be looking back at a year of success and accomplishment, while others will be hoping to put the past 12 months behind them.

Whether it is a failure to live up to their extremely high standards, crushing defeats or self imposed problems off the field of play, several stars have endured disappointments throughout the year.

The year ahead could prove vital in either bouncing back from a first major setback, restoring a dented reputation or targeting a record-breaking achievement before their careers draw to a close. Here, Sportsmail takes a closer look at several stars who desperately need a good 2023.

Cristiano Ronaldo

The sight of Cristiano Ronaldo in tears walking down the tunnel after Portugal's shock quarter-final defeat by Morocco was one striking images of the World Cup in Qatar, with the veteran forward admitting it was the end of his dream to lift the sport's greatest prize.

The bigger question was whether the image was the final time the public will see Ronaldo at the elite level of the game.

The thought seemed unlikely when the five-time Ballon d'Or winner finished as Manchester United's top scorer in the Premier League last season, but so much has happened since.

Ronaldo has since been jettisoned by the club after his controversial interview with Piers Morgan, where he hit out at manager Erik ten Hag and the club's ownership. 

The fallout dominated the start of Portugal's World Cup campaign, but by the knock-out stage the discussion centred around whether he was a hindrance to the national team, with Goncalo Ramos taking his starting place and scoring a hat-trick against Switzerland.

Added salt in the wounds will have come with the sight of his great rival Lionel Messi lifting the World Cup at a time when his own career is in a state of turmoil. 

Whether a Ronaldo lover or hater, it would be sad to see a legendary career peter out in the way it currently looks like doing, no matter how self-inflicted.

For the first time clubs appear keener to distance themselves from Ronaldo than utilise his talent, with the number of potential suitors seeming thin.

After an inglorious end to 2022, the question is whether Ronaldo can carve out a more fitting final chapter to his career, with reports he is on the brink of signing a massive £173million-a-year deal with Al-Nassr and Saudi Arabia.

Jadon Sancho

Jadon Sancho was the highest profile name to miss out on Gareth Southgate's 26-man squad for the World Cup in Qatar. The most surprising part was that there had been little shock at his omission, having dropped down the Three Lions' pecking order.

Few would have attempted to justify Sancho’s inclusion over the likes of Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Manchester United team-mate Marcus Rashford in England’s wide positions.

The hype when United finally completed the £73m move for the winger back in 2021 feels like a distant memory.

Sancho has yet to hit the heights since joining from Borussia Dortmund, where he had scored 50 goals and registered 57 assists in 137 appearances.

The winger heads into the New Year having not featured for United since October due to not being 'physically or mentally ready to play', having instead travelled to Holland to work with coaches recommended by manager Erik ten Hag. The United boss has yet to put a timeframe on his return.

‘We want to bring him back as quickly as possible, but I can't give a prognosis of when that will be,’ Ten Hag said. 'Sometimes there are circumstances with fitness and mood.

'We got a drop of quality level and sometimes you don't know why or what is causing it. That is what we are doing now to try to get him back there. It is a combination of physically and mentally.’

Sancho could take heart from the return to form of Rashford, who scored in United's 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in midweek and who has been rejuvenated under Ten Hag's management this season, which contributed to his return to the England set-up.

The increased stability at United and departure of Ronaldo should provide a platform for Sancho when he is ready to return to the fold at Old Trafford. 

Emma Raducanu

There are few athletes to have had the rise to prominence that Emma Raducanu had in 2021. Having been a largely unknown 18-year-old heading into Wimbledon, Raducanu quickly became the fairytale of New York by becoming the first qualifier to win the US Open title just months later.

Raducanu's meteoric ascent led to enormous interest from the public and commercially, with Forbes estimating this year that the British tennis star had earned $21.1m during the last 12 months, largely due to a series of lucrative endorsements from the likes of British Airways, Dior, Evian, HSBC, Nike, Porsche, Tiffany and Vodafone.

It is understandable then that 2022 has seen a levelling out, with Raducanu adjusting to her first year on the WTA Tour amid the intense spotlight and expectations her rise had caused.

Raducanu suffered second-round exits in the first three Grand Slam events of the season, while her US Open title defence came to an abrupt end with an opening round loss to Alize Cornet.

The Briton has acknowledged that remaining physically fit throughout the year will be a big goal having endured a series of niggling injuries which hampered her season, including four retirements from matches.