The Newcomer of the year: Aryna Sabalenka:
20-year-old Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus won her first WTA title at the Connecticut Open in New Haven and her maiden WTA Premier 5 title in Wuhan. The Minsk-native broke into the WTA Top 20, reaching a career-high singles ranking of 11th. At Grand Slam level, she reached the fourth round at the US Open, where she beat Petra Kvitova in the third round before losing to eventual champion Naomi Osaka. During her impressive hard-court season, Sabalenka reached the third round at the Rogers Cup, the semifinal in Cincinnati and the quarter final at the China Open in Beijing, where she beat defending champion Caroline Garcia to score her eighth top-10 win of the season.
The most improved player of the year: Kiki Bertens:
The Dutchwoman ended the 2017 season ranked world number 31 and made a huge step forward, reaching a career-high of world number 9 in October. She was considered mainly a clay-court specialist before this season. She had won all her four titles on this surface and reached her best result at Grand Slam level in 2016, when she qualified for the semifinal at Roland Garros.
This year Bertens has enjoyed a great season on the other surfaces, becoming an all-round player. She won her maiden Premier title in Charleston and reached her first Premier Mandatory final in Madrid. After reaching the quarter final at Wimbledon on grass, Bertens won two more titles on hard-courts in Cincinnati and Seoul. Bertens scored eight wins against top-10 players and qualified for the WTA Finals in Singapore for the first time in her career. She qualified for the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Elina Svitolina. Bertens was named WTA Most Improved Player of the Year.
The “Master” of the Year: Elina Svitolina
The Ukrainian player started her season with a title at the Brisbane International against qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich. She successfully defended her two titles in Dubai and Rome. In the Italian capital she beat Simona Halep in straight sets. After a period of ups and downs in which she reached the quarter final in Birmingham, the semifinal in Montreal and the quarter final in Hong Kong, Svitolina reached top form again for the WTA Finals in Singapore. Dismissing Sloane Stephens in the final to win the biggest title of her career. She won all her round robin matches against Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova and defending champion Caroline Wozniacki and her semifinal against Kiki Bertens.
