Aryna Sabalenka voted Player of the Year as WTA Awards Week kicks off

St. Petersburg, FL, USA – Following the conclusion of the 2024 season, the WTA will celebrate the stand-out performers of the year over the coming days as part of WTA Awards Week, which kicks off today with the announcement of the Player Award winners.

From December 9 to 13, the WTA will honor the best players, tournaments and coach of the year, as well as those athletes who have made an exceptional contribution to the Hologic WTA Tour.

Today the WTA has revealed the winners of the five Player Awards, as voted for by international tennis media, which are as follows:

Player of the Year – Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka has been voted as the Player of the Year for the first time in her career following a stellar season on the Hologic WTA Tour. The 26-year-old reached seven finals across 2024 and won four titles, defending her Australian Open title, lifting her debut US Open crown and winning WTA 1000 events at the Cincinnati Open and the Dongfeng Voyah · Wuhan Open. She recaptured the PIF WTA World No.1 Ranking in October and ended the season in the year-end No.1 position following her fourth consecutive WTA Finals qualification.

Doubles Team of the Year – Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini

The Italian duo of Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini enjoyed a season to remember in 2024, tasting success at almost every level of professional tennis. The pair lifted WTA 1000 titles firstly on home soil at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Rome) and then the China Open (Beijing) in addition to the WTA 500 Upper Austria Ladies Linz. They reached their first Grand Slam final together at Roland Garros before capping off a memorable summer by winning the gold medal in doubles at the Paris Olympics at the same venue, and ended the season by making their team debut at the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF.

Most Improved Player of the Year – Emma Navarro

Emma Navarro had always shown great promise to become one of the Tour’s top performers over recent years and this season the American ensured she fulfilled that potential. She won the first title of her career at the WTA 250 Hobart International and went on to reach a further six semifinals at WTA 250, 500, 1000 and Grand Slam level. The 23-year-old also enjoyed three wins over Top 5 players, including over then World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka at the WTA 1000 BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells), and her consistent results saw her make her Top 10 debut in September.

Newcomer of the Year – Lulu Sun

Newcomer of the Year Lulu Sun proved to be the breakout star of 2024, having been ranked outside the Top 200 in January before soaring to No.40 by the year’s end. She kicked off her incredible campaign by making her Grand Slam main draw at the Australian Open before enjoying more success at the majors with her first Top 10 win over No.8 Zheng Qinwen as part of a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon as a qualifier (making history as the first New Zealand woman to reach that stage in the Open Era). Sun rounded out her season by reaching her first Tour final in Monterrey at the WTA 500 Abierto GNP Seguros and peaked in the PIF WTA Rankings at No.39.

Comeback Player of the Year – Paula Badosa

Having shut down her 2023 season after Wimbledon with a back injury, Paula Badosa showed incredible resilience to come roaring back to the top of the game across 2024. The former World No.2 showed she was getting back to her best on clay with a Round of 16 run at the WTA 1000 Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Rome) followed by reaching the third round at Roland Garros, before cementing her comeback status on hard courts in the summer and fall. The 26-year-old won the fourth title of her career at the Mubadala Citi DC Open (Washington), reached the semifinals of WTA 1000 events at the Cincinnati Open and China Open (Beijing) and at the WTA 500 Ningbo Open, and matched her best Grand Slam result with a quarterfinal finish at the US Open.