World No.1 Serena Williams has rounded off an impressive year by receiving the top honour at the 2015 WTA Awards.
The winners for each category are voted for by both the fans as well as the media with the average percentage dictating which player has won. Today that WTA has announced the results of voting in five categories ranging from newcomer of the year to player of the year.
WTA Player of the year: Serena Williams
The election of the world No.1 is not a surprise, however the voting figures are. The world No.1 received 79% of votes from the media, but just 37% from fans. Nevertheless, her average percentage is still enough to give the 34-year-old the title.
This year Williams has achieved a winning percentage of 94.6% and has only lost to three players on the tour (Petra Kvitova, Belinda Bencic and Roberta Vinci). After winning three consecutive Grand Slam titles this year, Williams was on the verge of becoming the first woman to achieve a calendar slam since Steffi Graf in 1988. Her dreams were dashed at the US Open when she lost in the semi-finals to Italy’s Roberta Vinci. Outside of the Grand Slam tournaments, the world No.1 also won titles in Miami and Cincinnati.
It is the third consecutive year that Williams has won the title and the seventh in her career. She is just one away from Steffi Graf’s record of 8 awards.
WTA team of the year: Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza
With a massive 98% backing from the media vote as well as 58% of the fans vote, Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza has enjoyed an impressive year on the doubles circuit. This year the pair has claimed 9 titles on the WTA tour including two Grand Slam titles (Wimbledon and the US Open) and the WTA Finals title. Earlier this year, Mirza became the first Indian player to reach No.1 in the doubles rankings after winning the Family Circle Cup. At the time Mirza paid tribute to Hingis.
“It’s a dream for every kid to be No.1 one day,” Mirza said.
“I can’t think of a better person to do it with. When we came here we had one thing in mind, to get No.1, and she really helped me get there. She helped me through some tough moments this week. She’s just a great person and a great player”.
After playing with different partners at the start of the year, Mirza has ended 2015 win a win-loss of 66-12 and Hingis achieved 62-12.
WTA Comeback player of the year: Venus Williams
At the age of 35 Venus Williams ended her year by winning the WTA Elite Trophy. The win in China elevated the former world No.1 back into the top ten and made her the oldest player in the top ten since Martina Navratilova back in January 1995. Williams has also won two other titles this year is Auckland and Wuhan. Her best Grand Slam performances were at the Australian Open and US Open where she reached the quarter-final. It is the first time that Williams has ended her season in the top ten since 2010.
Williams received 81% of the media vote and 63% of the fans vote. She ends 2015 at 7th in the world with a win-loss of 41-13.
WTA Newcomer of the year: Daria Gavrilova
The former junior sensation has received the award after making solid progress on the tour this year. The 21-year-old has reached the quarterfinal at two WTA tournaments (Hong Kong and Eastbourne) and reached the semifinal of the Rome Open, a premier event. In Rome Gavrilova won two qualifying matches to reach the main draw before her breakthrough run, producing wins over Belinda Bencic, Ana Ivanovic and Timea Bacsinszky. The Australian was stopped in the last four by Maria Sharapova.
Gavrilova used to represent Russia before switching her allegiance to Australia. During her junior years she reached world No.1 after winning gold at the Youth Olympic Games as well as the Girls US Open.
Currently the 21-year-old is ranked 36th in the world, one place below her career ranking high.
WTA Most Improve Player: Timea Bacsinszky
Two years ago Timea Bacsinszky almost gave up on tennis to pursue a career in the hotel industry after suffering from a series of injuries. Fortunately the 26-year-old decided to continue with her tennis dream and it has paid off this year. In February she defeated France’s Caroline Garcia to claim her first WTA title since 2009 in Acapulco, Mexico. The week after her Mexican triumph she won another WTA title in mexico at the Monterrey Open.
Bacsinszky’s stand out achievement this year was at the French Open where she enjoyed a dream run to the semifinals. Defeating Petra Kvitova on the fourth round and Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck in the last eight, she set up a semifinal meeting with top seed Serena Williams. Despite impressively winning the opening set, the Swiss lost in three sets to the American.
This year the 26-year-old achieved a career ranking high of 10th in the world, becoming the fourth Swiss woman in history to reach the top ten. She ends 2015 at 12th in the world, 36 places higher than her year-end finish in 2014.
