Iga Swiatek emulates Serena Williams feat with WTA Award win

December 12, 2023

Serena Williams, Tennis News, WTA Tennis Players

Iga Swiatek emulates Serena Williams feat with WTA Award win

Iga Swiatek has become the first woman to win the WTA Player of the Year award in back-to-back seasons since Serena Williams in 2015.

Swiatek won the award for the first time in 2022, and has been given the same accolade once again after adding six titles to her resume and recovering her spot as world No.1.

These titles include a third Roland Garros, a WTA 1000 title in Beijing and most recently the year-end WTA Finals, that took place in Cancun.

As a result, Swiatek finished the season with a win percentage of 86% and she thanked the WTA for the recognition of her hard work, “Thank you for this acknowledgment and recognition. See you soon!”

Thank you for this acknowledgement and recognition. See you soon! ☺️ https://t.co/RwznUJori7

— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) December 11, 2023

As previously mentioned, the last time that this award was won in consecutive years was when Serena Williams received it four years in a row from 2012-2015.

This isn’t the only award that Swiatek’s team has been awarded, with her coach Tomaz Wiktorowski receiving the ‘Coach of the Year’ award for the first time.

Wiktorowski is the second coach of Swiatek’s to receive this award, with Piotr Sierzputowski picking up the award back in 2020 after the Pole’s maiden Grand Slam title win.

With the off-season now fully underway, fans will be counting down the days until Swiatek’s next tournament when she represents Poland at the United Cup.

G’day, @iga_swiatek ? We’re really happy to have you BACK! Jazda ??#UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/abCvRVT2gl

— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) December 5, 2023

Swiatek will play her first match of the season against world No.11 Beatriz Haddad Maia in Perth on Saturday 30th December.

Inside the baseline…

It would be difficult to argue that Swiatek doesn’t deserve this award, especially after finishing the year in sensational form to win the WTA Finals. Aryna Sabalenka was definitely the Pole’s closest rival this year, with a better Grand Slam record and actually dethroned Swiatek off the top of the rankings for a short period. To replicate a feat that was last achieved by Serena Williams just shows how special of a talent Swiatek is, and she is still only 22-years-old!