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Iga Swiatek - Roland Garros 2023
Tennis News, WTA Tennis Players

WTA 2023 Year-End Award Nominees Announced: Featuring a Brit!


The shortlist for the 2023 WTA Awards has been announced, with Iga Swiatek hoping to become the first woman to win the ‘Player of the Year’ award in consecutive years since Serena Williams.

The awards are split between the player awards, which have five different categories, and a separate award for ‘Coach of the Year’.

Player awards are voted for by members of the international tennis media and coach awards are voted for by fellow WTA registered coaches.

WTA Singles Player of the Year

The category for the best player has been awarded to some of the biggest names in tennis over the years, including Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.

Another of those players who has won this award is Iga Swiatek in 2022, and she has enjoyed another successful campaign this year, finishing the year as world No.1.

However, the Pole did lose that status temporarily to Aryna Sabalenka, who has reached at least the semi-final of every major tournament this year, the first woman since the aforementioned Williams to do so.

The major titles were shared out evenly this year, with Sabalenka and Swiatek winning the first two, before the surprise package of Marketa Vondrousova and teenage sensation Coco Gauff also got in on the act.

Here are all the nominees for the Singles Player of the Year:

Iga Swiatek

Win-loss record: 68-11 (86%)

Year-end ranking: No.1

Titles in 2023: 6 (Doha, Stuttgart, Roland Garros, Warsaw, Beijing, WTA Finals)

Aryna Sabalenka 

Win-loss record: 55-14 (80%)

Year-end ranking: No.2

Titles in 2023: 3 (Adelaide 1, Australian Open & Madrid)

Coco Gauff

Win-loss record: 51-16 (76%)

Year-end ranking: No.3

Titles in 2023: 4 (Auckland, Washington D.C., Cincinnati & US Open)

Elena Rybakina

Win-loss record: 47-15 (76%)

Year-end ranking: No.4

Titles in 2023: 2 (Indian Wells & Rome)

Jessica Pegula

Win-loss record: 59-18 (77%)

Year-end ranking: No.5

Titles in 2023: 2 (Montreal & Seoul)

Marketa Vondrousova

Win-loss record: 40-18 (69%)

Year-end ranking: No.7

Titles in 2023: 1 (Wimbledon)

Tennishead’s Singles Player of the Year Prediction: Iga Swiatek

WTA Doubles Team of the Year

Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova have been crowned ‘Doubles Team of the Year’ for the last two years, and although they have been nominated again it seems unlikely that they will be able to do the treble with some tough competition.

Here are all of the nominees for the Doubles Team of the Year:

Storm Hunter & Elise Mertens

Win-loss record: 30-11 (73%)

Year-end ranking: No.1

Titles in 2023: 2 (Rome & Guadalajara)

Coco Gauff & Jessica Pegula

Win-loss record: 35-12 (74%)

Year-end ranking: No.2

Titles in 2023: 2 (Doha & Miami)

Laura Siegmund & Vera Zvonareva 

Win-loss record: 29-12 (71%)

Year-end ranking: No.3

Titles in 2023: 4 (Washington D.C., Ningbo, Nanchang & WTA Finals)

Gabriela Dabrowski & Erin Routliffe

Win-loss record: 19-7 (73%)

Year-end ranking: No.4

Titles in 2023: 2 (US Open & Zhengzhou)

Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova

Win-loss record: 20-8 (71%)

Year-end ranking: No.5

Titles in 2023: 3 (Australian Open, Indian Wells & San Diego)

Tennishead’s Doubles Team of the Year Prediction: Coco Gauff & Jessica Pegula 

Most Improved WTA Player of the Year

The winner of the ‘Most Improved Player of the Year’ in 2022 was Beatriz Haddad Maia, who went onto win the WTA Elite Trophy and reach the Roland Garros semi-finals this year.

It has been a good year for Chinese women’s tennis and this has been showcased in this award with three nominees. There is also a British nominee in the form of Katie Boulter, who claimed her first main tour title in 2023.

Here is the full list of nominees for Most Improved Player of the Year:

Wang Xinyu

Singles Win-loss record: 37-24 (61%)

Singles Ranking at the start of 2023: No.86

Current Singles Ranking: No.36

Singles Titles in 2023: 1 (Roland Garros Doubles with Hsieh Su-Wei)

Zhu Lin

Singles Win-loss record: 28-24 (54%)

Singles Ranking at the start of 2023: No.84

Current Singles Ranking: No.37

Singles Titles in 2023: 1 (Hua Hin)

Katie Boulter

Singles Win-loss record: 38-20 (66%)

Singles Ranking at the start of 2023: No.136

Current Singles Ranking: No.56

Singles Titles in 2023: 1 (Nottingham)

Zheng Qinwen 

Singles Win-loss record: 37-19 (66%)

Singles Ranking at the start of 2023: No.28

Current Singles Ranking: No.15

Singles Titles in 2023: 2 (Palermo & Zhengzhou)

Jasmine Paolini

Singles Win-loss record: 41-29 (59%)

Singles Ranking at the start of 2023: No.62

Current Singles Ranking: No.30

Singles Titles in 2023: 0 (Finalist in Palermo & Monastir, won doubles in Monastir with Sara Errani)

Tennishead’s Most Improved Player of the Year Prediction: Zheng Qinwen 

WTA Newcomer of the Year

There have been plenty of new faces surfacing on the WTA Tour this year, with teenagers making waves at the majors and US College graduates turning their attention to the main tour.

Here is the full list of nominees for the Newcomer of the Year:

Mirra Andreeva

Singles Win-loss record: 36-9 (80%)

Singles Ranking at the start of 2023: No.293

Current Singles Ranking: No.57

Best Results in 2023: Australian Open Girls Finalist, Madrid Masters Fourth Round, Roland Garros Third Round & Wimbledon Fourth Round.

Diana Shnaider

Singles Win-loss record: 24-21 (53%)

Singles Ranking at the start of 2023: No.109

Current Singles Ranking: No.65

Best Result in 2023: Ningbo Finalist

Peyton Stearns

Singles Win-loss record: 45-23 (66%)

Singles Ranking at the start of 2023: No.210

Current Singles Ranking: No.50

Best Result in 2023: Bogota Finalist & US Open Fourth Round

Elina Avanesyan 

Singles Win-loss record: 31-24 (56%)

Singles Ranking at the start of 2023: No.153

Current Singles Ranking: No.74

Best Result in 2023: Roland Garros Fourth Round

Linda Noskova

Singles Win-loss record: 33-20 (62%)

Singles Ranking at the start of 2023: No.102

Current Singles Ranking: No.41

Best Result in 2023: Adelaide 1 & Prague Finalist

Tennishead’s Newcomer of the Year Prediction: Mirra Andreeva

WTA Comeback Player of the Year

As well as players appearing on the WTA Tour for the first time, there have also been some more familiar faces returning from pregnancy and serious injuries to win Grand Slam titles and make huge jumps up the rankings.

Here are the incredible players on the nominations list for Comeback Player of the Year:

Marketa Vondrousova

Singles Win-loss record: 40-18 (69%)

Singles Ranking at the start of 2023: No.92

Current Singles Ranking: No.7

Best Result in 2023: Won Wimbledon

Karolina Muchova

Singles Win-loss record: 38-13 (75%)

Singles Ranking at the start of 2023: No.151

Current Singles Ranking: No.8

Best Result in 2023: Finalist in Roland Garros & Cincinnati

Elina Svitolina

Singles Win-loss record: 21-12 (64%)

Singles Ranking at the start of 2023: No.240

Current Singles Ranking: No.25

Best Results in 2023: Won Strasbourg, Roland Garros Quarter-final & Wimbledon Semi-final

Hsieh Su-Wei

Doubles Win-loss record: 21-8 (72%)

Doubles Ranking at the start of 2023: No.355

Current Doubles Ranking: No.6

Best Results in 2023: Won Roland Garros with Xinyu Wang & Wimbledon with Barbora Strycova

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 

Singles Win-loss record: 24-17 (59%)

Singles Ranking at the start of 2023: No.367

Current Singles Ranking: No.58

Best Result in 2023: Roland Garros Quarter-final

Tennishead’s Comeback Player of the Year Prediction: Elina Svitolina

WTA Coach of the Year

As much as the players that take to court deserve high praise, there is also a huge team behind them and the Coach of the Year award enables some of those to receive the credit that they deserve.

David Witt, who is the coach of Jessica Pegula, won the award last year, so we are guaranteed a new winner in 2023:

Tomasz Wiktorowski (Iga Swiatek)

Length of Coach/Player Relationship: 2022-Present

Ranking at the start of the year: No.1

Year-end Ranking: No.1

Best Results: Won Doha, Stuttgart Open, Roland Garros, Warsaw Open, China Open & WTA Finals

Anton Dubrov (Aryna Sabalenka)

Length of Coach/Player Relationship: 2020-Present

Ranking at the start of the year: No.5

Year-end Ranking: No.2

Best Results: Won Adelaide International 1, Australian Open & Madrid Masters

Brad Gilbert/Pere Riba (Coco Gauff)

Length of Coach/Player Relationship: June 2023-Present/October 2023

Ranking at the start of the Partnership: No.7

Year-end Ranking: No.3

Best Results: Won Washington Open, Cincinnati Masters & US Open

Stefano Vukov (Elena Rybakina)

Length of Coach/Player Relationship: 2019-Present

Ranking at the start of the year: No.21

Year-end Ranking: No.4

Best Results: Won Indian Wells & Rome Masters

Emil Miske (Karolina Muchova)

Length of Coach/Player Relationship: 2017-2019, April 2023-Present

Ranking at the start of the Partnership: No.52

Year-end Ranking: No.8

Best Results: Roland Garros & Cincinnati Masters Finalist

Raemon Sluiter (Elina Svitolina)

Length of Coach/Player Relationship: March 2023-Present

Ranking at the start of the Partnership: No.875

Year-end Ranking: No.25

Best Results: Won Strasbourg, Roland Garros Quarter-final & Wimbledon Semi-final

Tennishead’s Coach of the Year Prediction: Brad Gilbert/Pere Riba

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Matthew Johns, Tennishead Writer, is a professional tennis journalist with a specialist degree in Sports Journalism. He's a keen tennis player having represented his local club and University plus he's also a qualified tennis coach. Matthew has a deep knowledge of tennis especially the ATP Tour and thrives on breaking big tennis news stories for Tennishead.