Iga Swiatek award questioned with Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka criticism
Tennis fans have questioned the decision to name Iga Swiatek as the 2023 WTA Player of the Year. The 22-year-old became the first player to win the award in consecutive years on the women’s tour since Serena Williams won four straight from 2012-2015.
The Pole won 86% of her matches this season and claimed six titles, including the French Open and her first ATP Finals crown. The season-ending title also meant Swiatek clinched the No. 1 ranking for the second successive year.
But despite her success, some fans think either Coco Gauff or Aryna Sabalenka should have claimed the prestigious award of being the season’s best player, despite Swiatek having a higher win percentage and more titles than the pair. “Difficult to understand how she can be the player of the year, Coco and Aryna deserve it more than she deserves it,” one wrote on social media.
“Aryna Sabalenka should’ve been player of the year. 2 Grand Slam finals. 1 Grand Slam title,” another added. “Making all Grand Slam semi-finals and being ranked #1! Just because Iga is #1 doesn’t mean she deserves it.”
“I’m surprised I don’t see Coco up here,” another follower said before this user mentioned: “I think we’ve been robbed cus @sabalenka_aryna deserves it more than Iga.” Sabalenka won three titles in 2023 and claimed the first major of the year by winning the Australian Open.
She finished runner-up at the US Open and made semi-final appearances at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The Belarusian also reached the last four at the WTA Finals in Cancun, where she was beaten by Swiatek.
Gauff began the season in style by winning the Auckland title without dropping a set and her form leading into her final major of the year at Flushing Meadows was excellent. She captured the Washington and Cincinnati titles before coming from behind to defeat Sabalenka in New York and experience the biggest moment of her career in front of her home crowd.
Don’t miss…
Swiatek slams WTA for contradicting mental health promotion in scathing review[LATEST]
Iga Swiatek’s coach tears into WTA over ’embarrassing’ finals plans[LATEST]
Iga Swiatek explains why Ashleigh Barty’s sudden retirement ‘hit hard'[LATEST]
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
Gauff’s performances across the season saw her reach a career-high ranking of number three and reach the semi-finals of the WTA Finals for the first time. She won 24 of her last 28 matches of the season and the American will be one of the biggest threats to Swiatek and her No. 1 ranking next season.
Another award handed out by the WTA was the Comeback Player of the Year, which was won by Elina Svitolina. After giving birth to her first child in 2022, the Ukrainian returned in 2023 and reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and the Wimbledon semifinals, while returning to the Top 25 in the rankings.
Source: Read Full Article
