Iga Swiatek, Zheng Qinwen and other winners react to 2022 WTA Awards
The winners of the WTA awards have been released with World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, Barbora Krejcikova and Zheng Qinwen among the winners.
Swiatek expectedly won the WTA Player of the Year award, beating out the likes of Ons Jabeur, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Caroline Garcia and Elena Rybakina. The Pole had an extraordinary season and was head and shoulders above her peers, winning 2 Grand Slams and 4 WTA 1000 titles, among other triumphs.
This was the second time she was among the winners at the WTA Awards, having previously won the WTA Most Improved Player of the Year award in 2020.
Swiatek thanked her fans for voting for her and said that she was honored to win the award.
"Hi guys, I'm on my way right now to finish my pre-season in Dubai and I want to thank you all for choosing me Player of the Year. Last season was so intense and amazing and I feel I'm really proud of myself and the team and a huge satisfaction also because of you guys. So, thanks again and I'm really honored to have this award. I admire all the players that have won it before so I'm gonna try and be a good example," the World No. 1 said in a video.
@iga_swiatek Dzieki from 2022 Player of the Year, Iga 💫
@iga_swiatek | #WTAAwards https://t.co/W39D8Z2bo0
Zheng Qinwen won the Newcomer of the Year award. The Chinese had a breakthrough year as she reached her maiden WTA final at the Pan Pacific Open and made it to the fourth round of the French Open. Zheng's performances saw her break into the top 25 of the WTA rankings, having finished 2021 as the World No. 143.
The 20-year-old shared a post congratulating her on winning the award on her Instagram story and captioned it with a heart emoji.
Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova were among the winners at the WTA Awards for the second successive year as they were voted the WTA Doubles Team of the Year. The pair enjoyed another excellent season that saw them win three out of four Grand Slams.
The pair beat out some very good teams in Elise Mertens and Veronika Kudermetova, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, Gabriela Dabrowski and Giuliana Olmos, and Lyudmyla Kitchenok and Jelena Ostapenko.
Krejcikova wrote on Instagram that she was very pleased that Siniakova and herself were voted as the best doubles team of the 2022 season.
"I am extremely pleased that @siniakovakaterina and I have been chosen as the doubles team of the 2022 season. I think that this season was really pretty good. We won 3 Grand Slams and winning at @usopen earns you the “Career Super Slam. I want to thank you all for your support and look forward to seeing you in 2023," the Czech stated.
How did other winners react to the WTA awards?
Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria won the WTA Comeback Player of the Year award. The German thanked her family and fans for their votes and claimed that the award meant a lot to her.
"COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2022! Thank you so much to my family husband/coach and my super daughter/ hitting partner of the year Charlotte and our new sunshine Cici! And of course thank you all for your votes…!This award means a lot to me! See you in 2023," Maria wrote on Instagram.
Beatriz Haddad Maia was also among the winners at the WTA Awards as she won the Most Improved Player of the Year award. She took to Instagram to thank her team and her family for their support.
"Happy to receive the award from @wta as the most evolved player in 2022. Congratulations to all my team, who are part of this process. Without you none of this would be possible. This recognition shows that we are on the right path and motivates us to continue working towards even greater things. Thank you to my family for everything you are to me and to my sponsors for believing and trusting my work," she wrote in Portuguese.