2021 WTA Player Awards: Barbora Krejcikova leads with three nominations, Emma Raducanu nominated for Newcomer of the Year
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Emma Raducanu and Barbora Krejcikova
The 2021 WTA season has come to an end with Garbine Muguruza winning the year end WTA Finals at Guadalajara. The season saw young talent like Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez deliver at the biggest stage and also saw experienced players like Garbine Muguruza step up. To honour the players, WTA is taking a look back on the season and have nominated few players for the annual WTA Player Awards.
WTA player of the year
Nominees:
- Ashleigh Barty
- Barbora Krejcikova
- Naomi Osaka
- Garbine Muguruza
- Aryna Sabalenka
- Iga Swiatek
World No.1 Ash Barty will be the frontrunner to win the WTA player of the year award. She now has back to back year end No.1 finished and also won her second grand slam this season at Wimbledon. Apart from that, she had an exceptional clay court season and also made it to the end rounds of multiple WTA 1000 tournaments.
Other notable mentions who would win are Barbora Krejcikova and Iga Swiatek. Krejcikova won three majors this year(1 singles and 2 doubles) while Swiatek was the only player who made it to the second week of every major.
WTA newcomer of the year
- Emma Raducanu
- Mayar Sherif
- Ann Li
- Clara Tauson
- Maria Camila Osorio Serrano
- Liudmila Samsonova
Without a doubt, Emma Raducanu will be the clear favorite to win Newcomer of the year award. She made it to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon on grand slam debut and became the first qualifier in tennis history to win a grand slam- the US Open.
WTA most improved player of the year
- Leylah Fernandez
- Maria Sakkari
- Barbora Krejcikova
- Ons Jabeur
- Anett Kontaveit
- Paula Badosa
- Jessica Pegula
This will by far be the toughest category. All 7 nominees have done exceptionally well this year but Barbora Krejcikova, Maria Sakkari, Anett Kontaveit and Paula Badosa will be the frontrunners. Krejcikova had a breakthrough season where she won the French Open while Sakkari made it to two grand slam semifinals. Kontaveit too will have a strong case given her amazing run in the second half of the season including a runner-up finish at the WTA Finals.
WTA comeback player of the year
- Carla Suarez Navarro
- Elena Vesnina
- Ana Konjuh
WTA doubles team of the year
- Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova
- Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara
- Nicole Melichar-Martinez/Demi Schuurs
- Hsieh Su-Wei/Elise Mertens
- Alexa Guarachi/Desirae Krawczyk
- Samantha Stosur/Zhang Shuai
Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova will be the favorites to win the award. They have won 2 majors this season and also won the WTA Finals doubles title.
Also read: In Pictures: Roger Federer’s 2022 Calendar
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Lakshya Chopra
(2624 Articles Published)