By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday December 11 2023
Iga Swiatek and her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski are the WTA’s Player and Coach of 2023.
The WTA Tour announced the news today that 22-year-old Swiatek, who won her fourth major title this spring at Roland-Garros and finished the season at No.1 for the second consecutive season, had won the award.
Swiatek, who this season became the youngest player to win back-to-back Roland-Garros titles since Monica Seles in 1992, is the first WTA player to win back-to-back Player of the Year Awards since Serena Williams in 2016.
Wiktorowski was voted in by his peers as the coach of the year. The former coach of Agnieszka Radwanska helped Swiatek weather a challenging season that featured 68 wins and ended with her regaining the No.1 ranking with a title at the WTA Finals in Cancun.
Svitolina Comeback Player of the Year; Svitolina, Zheng and Jabeur Also Honored
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina stormed back onto the tour in 2023 as a new mother on a mission. She reached the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros then defeated four former Grand Slam champions en route to a semifinal run at Wimbledon. For her efforts the 29-year-old World No.25 was awarded the Comeback Player of the Year Award.
16-year-old Mirra Andreeva of Russia was named the WTA’s Newcomer of the Year after a season that saw her fly up the rankings from outside the Top 400 to as high as 46. The teen reached the third round on her Roland-Garros main draw debut then topped that with a trip to the second week on her Wimbledon debut.
China’s Qinwen was named the WTA’s Most Improved Player after claiming her maiden WTA title in Palermo and reaching her first major quarterfinal at the US Open. Zheng won 12 of her final 15 matches of 2023, and achieved a career-high ranking of 15.
Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens were named the WTA Doubles Team of the year.
Ons Jabeur was awarded the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award and the Peach Kellmeyer Player Service Award. The Tunisian struggled with injuries in 2023, but managed a third Grand Slam final appearance at Wimbledon, where she was defeated by Marketa Vondrousova for the title. Only Jabeur and Kim Clijsters have won both awards in the same season.