LONDON: Polish star Iga Swiatek and Spanish legend Rafael Nadal were crowned as ITF World Champions 2022 by the International Tennis Federation for clinching two Grand Slam titles during this season.
As per ESPN, ITF determines its awards based on criteria that include all events and give special weightage to four major championships and two team events, which are Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup.
Nadal clinched the award despite finishing number 2 in ATP Rankings behind Carlos Alcaraz, while Swiatek topped the year-end WTA rankings.
Nadal has clinched the title for the fifth time, having won it back in 2008, 2010, 2017 and 2019. He increased his Grand Slam title tally to a men’s record of 22, by winning the Australian Open back in January and French Open later in June.
Swiatek has won her maiden ITF Championship title and it comes after she won the French Open and US Open. She led the WTA with eight titles this year and had a 37-match winning streak, which is the longest unbeaten run in women’s tennis since 1997.
The ITF Awards will be presented on July 8 next year at a ceremony at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Other ITF World Champions include:
– Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in women’s doubles;
– Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in men’s doubles;
– Diede de Groot in women’s wheelchair tennis;
– Shingo Kunieda in men’s wheelchair tennis;
– Niels Vink in quad wheelchair tennis. (ANI)