Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek, currently ranked World No.1 by the Women’s Tennis Association(WTA) has been honoured with the 2022 WTA Player of the Year Award for the first time for her achievements in 2022. She has won a total of 67 matches in the 2022 season.
- WTA has announced the 2022 WTA Player Award winners including 5 Players Awards, 3 Player Service Awards and the Coach of the Year Award.
WTA’s Award Week:
i.WTA is set to celebrate the standout performer of the 2022 season as a part of its awards week from 12th to 16th December 2022 to honour 2022’s best players, tournaments, coach and athletes who supported the Hologic WTA Tour at every level.
ii.The winners of the WTA player Awards are voted by the international tennis media.
Iga Swiatek Highlights:
i.Iga Swiatek has been crowned champion in 8 tournament which includes 2 Grand Slams (Roland Garros and the US Open), WTA 1000 titles at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open (Doha), BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells), the Miami Open presented Itaú, Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Rome) and WTA 500 titles at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart) and the San Diego Open.
ii.Previously, She was named WTA Newcomer of the year in 2020.
Highlights – Winners of 2022 WTA Awards:
i.WTA 2022 Doubles Team of the Year – Czech tennis players, Barbora Krejcikova and doubles World No.1 Katerina Siniakova have been named for this award the for the 2nd season in a row and 3rd time overall.
- They won 3 titles in 2022 which include, the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
- Winning the US Open 2022, they completed the career Golden Slam and their sixth Grand Slam title as a duo, a feat achieved by only 6 other doubles teams.
ii.WTA 2022 Most Improved Player of the Year – Brazilian tennis player, Beatriz Haddad Maia was named for this award and became the first Brazilian woman to win a WTA Player Awards since they were introduced in 1977.
- She became the first woman to win the WTA 250 Rothesay Open Nottingham and WTA 250 Rothesay Classic Birmingham back-to-back and also reached the semifinals at WTA 500 Rothesay International Eastbourne.
iii.WTA 2022 Newcomer of the Year – Chinese tennis player Zheng Qinwen has been selected for this award.
- She is the 2nd Chinese woman to win a WTA Player Award, after Zheng Jie (Comeback Player of the Year 2008).
iv.WTA 2022 Comeback Player of the Year – German tennis player, Tatjana Maria, has been named for this award after a break she had taken from Summer 2022 to July 2021 and made her comeback in 2022 at the WTA 250 Copa Colsanitas.
List of 2022 WTA Awards:
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Player of the Year | Iga Swiatek (Poland) |
| Doubles Team of the Year | Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) |
| Most Improved Player of the Year | Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil) |
| Newcomer of the Year | Zheng Qinwen (China) |
| Comeback Player of the Year | Tatjana Maria (Germany) |
Winners of 2022 WTA Player Service Awards
The winners of the 2022 WTA Player Service Awards, as voted for by WTA players, are:
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Peachy Kellmeyer Player Service Award | Gabriela Dabrowski(Canada) |
| Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award | Ons Jabeur (Tunisia) |
| Jerry Diamond ACES Award | Maria Sakkari (Greece) |
| Coach of the Year (voted on by WTA registered coaches) | David Witt (United States of America) |
About Women’s Tennis Association(WTA):
Chairman & CEO– Steve Simon
President– Micky Lawler
Founded in 1973
Headquarters– Florida, United States of America(USA)
