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Sofia Kenin named WTA Player of the Year for 2020

Sofia Kenin is the eighth American to claim the WTA Player of the Year accolade after winning her maiden Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open; Iga Świątek and doubles team Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Babos also in the winners circle

Wednesday 9 December 2020 06:11, UK

Winner Sofia Kenin of the US smiles as she leaves the court after winning against Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova at the end of their women's singles semi-final tennis match on Day 12 of The Roland Garros 2020 French Open tennis tournament in Paris on October 8, 2020
Image: Sofia Kenin has been named the WTA Player of the Year

American Sofia Kenin has been named the WTA Player of the Year after a hugely successful year which saw her lift the Australian Open.

The 22-year-old captured her maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne, where she defeated world No 1 Ashleigh Barty in the semi-finals and former No 1 Garbiñe Muguruza in the final.

Kenin went on to reach her second career Grand Slam final at Roland Garros, losing to Poland's Iga Świątek and finished the season at a career-high world No 4.

She becomes the eighth American to earn the honour since it began in 1977, joining Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova, Lindsay Davenport, Tracy Austin, Chris Evert, Venus Williams and Jennifer Capriati in the list.

Sofia Kenin of the United States poses with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after winning her Women's Singles Final match against Garbine Muguruza of Spain on day thirteen of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on February 01, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia.
Image: Kenin poses with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup

French Open singles champion Swiatek won the Most Improved Player of the Year award.

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The talented Pole won her maiden Tour-level title at Roland Garros, defeating 2019 finalist Marketa Vondrousova, 2018 champion Halep and 2020 Australian Open champion Kenin along the way and didn't drop a set throughout the fortnight.

At 19-years-old, she became the youngest woman since Monica Seles to win the French Open.

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Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates after winning championship point during her Women's Singles Final against Sofia Kenin of The United States of America on day fourteen of the 2020 French Open at Roland Garros on October 10, 2020 in Paris, France
Image: Iga Swiatek became the first Polish player to win a Grand Slam singles title
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Nadia Podoroska of Argentina won Newcomer of the Year, while former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka claimed the Comeback Player of the Year award after she claimed her first title in over four years at the Western & Southern Open and advanced to her fifth career Grand Slam final at the US Open. The Belarusian also regained her spot in the WTA Top 20.

Also on the list of honours were Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Babos, who won Doubles Team of the Year.

The French-Hungarian pairing captured both the Australian Open and French Open titles, marking their third and fourth major doubles titles as a team.

The Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova earned her first Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award which is presented to the player who conducts herself in a manner fitting of a professional sports figure and observes the rules of fair play, shows respect for others and is gracious on and off the court.

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