“A Scam” – Fans Call Out Laureus for Depriving Iga Swiatek of the 2023 Sportsmanship Award

Iga Swiatek won eight titles in the 2022 season, four more than Aryna Sabalenka won last year.

“A Scam” – Fans Call Out Laureus for Depriving Iga Swiatek of the 2023 Sportsmanship Award

Iga Swiatek (Image via X/AllAboutHQ)

In Short
  • Fans criticized Laureus for awarding the 2023 Sportswoman Award to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce instead of Iga Swiatek.
  • Swiatek had a standout 2022 season, winning eight titles and achieving a 37-match winning streak.
  • Despite her achievements, expectations were unmet as she did not receive the award, leading to claims of unfairness from fans.

Fans on social media have criticized Laureus World Awards for robbing Iga Swiatek of the 2023 Sportswoman Award just hours after Aryna Sabalenka claimed the 2026 award. Despite Swiatek’s near-perfect season on tour, in which she won eight titles. Rather, the juror and academy members gave the award to Jamaican athletic sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce for her escapades at the World Athletics Championship.

Swiatek had the best season of her career in 2022, dominating the women’s circuit that year. She finished the season losing just nine of her 76 matches on tour. She won two Grand Slams; first at the French Open and then at the US Open, and secured six other tour-level titles, including the Rome Open, Indian Wells, the Miami Open, and the Doha Open.

The Polish star also had a 37-match winning streak, the longest unbeaten run in the 21st century by any woman. The winning streak began in February at the Doha and continued until the Wimbledon Championship, where she lost to French star Alize Cornet in straight sets in the third round.

The former World No.1 secured the year-No.1 ranking with 11,0385 points, the highest total since 2013. There were expectations that she was going to easily win the Laureus Sportswoman Award in 2023 following her excellent season, in which no player in the women’s circuit beat her more than once.

But shockingly, legendary sprinter Fraser-Pryce was awarded the prestigious Sports accolade. Fraser-Pryce had claimed her fifth 100m gold at the World Athletics Championships at age 35, making her the oldest woman to ever achieve that record. She was the fastest sprinter that year.

Nonetheless, fans were hoping that since Elaine Thompson-Herah had won it the previous year due to her four gold medal wins at the Tokyo Olympics, the same couldn’t be said about Fraser-Pryce, as the Olympics were not played that year. But Swiatek had achieved a brilliant record (37-match winning streak) that no woman had done since 1990; she was meant to win the Sportswoman Award. Here are the fans’ reactions:

Sabalenka won the 2026 Sportswoman of the Year Award following her brilliance on tour last season. She reached nine tour-level finals, including three Grand Slam finals, and was at the top of the WTA rankings from the start to the end of 2025. She won the US Open and three other titles, including the Miami Open.

Iga Swiatek says fans must lower their expectations despite training in Mallorca

Iga Swiatek is seeking to get into form at the Madrid Open. The Polish star has not won a title this season, and she’s yet to reach a tour-level semi-final. She finds herself ranked World No.4 in the WTA rankings and could drop further if her results don’t improve on tour. The 24-year-old traveled to Mallorca days ago and spent some time training with Rafael Nadal.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek (Image via X/United Cup)

Some expected that, having trained with the King of Clay, her performance would improve. But that failed to be the reality at the Stuttgart Open. She crashed out of the tournament in the quarter-finals after losing to Mirra Andreeva. During her press conference in Madrid, she admitted that she understands that fans expect instant results after training with Nadal:

The other thing is to start working seriously on my tennis, which is always a process. It’s not something that happens in a week or a month. You have to change certain things in your mind so they become automatic. I try to be patient and work hard every day, but I don’t expect everything to become perfect all at once. The idea is there and the process has started, so I’m very happy and motivated to work.

Swiatek will open her campaign at the Madrid Open against either Daria Kasatkina or a qualifier. She reached the semi-finals of the tournament last year before losing to Coco Gauff in straight sets. She will have to defend over 500 points at the tournament and hope to climb up the women’s rankings.

Also Read: Toni Kroos Expresses Words of Admiration for Novak Djokovic at the 2026 Laureus Awards Ceremony