Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner won the 2024 ITF World Champion Award for their efforts in the previous season.
In 2024, both Swiatek and Sinner held the World No. 1 spot for a big part of the season. Swiatek won one major last year, while Sinner triumphed at two Grand Slam tournaments.
Overall, both had incredibly successful seasons, but both also had their seasons overshadowed by a doping case. While Sinner tested positive for clostebol, Swiatek's positive test was for trimetazidine.
Ultimately, both managed to prove that they didn't take those substances intentionally. The Italian player avoided any suspension, even though his case has yet to be decided at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed it.
Swiatek, on the other hand, received a one-month suspension, but she learned good news on January 20th, 2025, that WADA would not be appealing her case.
It happened on the day of her fourth-round win at the 2025 Australian Open, and as if the 23-year-old Polish player didn't receive enough good news, she was also given the 2024 ITF World Champion Award.
Although Swiatek won the French Open in 2024, and she added four WTA 1000 trophies in Doha, Indian Wells, Madrid, and Rome, it must be said that her win was a bit of a surprise.
Usually, the award is given to the most successful player in a season, which might be difficult to determine based on the ranking, which is why the year-end World No. 1 isn't always given the award, which was the case this time.
Although it's rare, it happened, for example, last year. In 2023, it was the first time this scenario occurred since 2017, and it was the other way around, with Sabalenka winning the award and Swiatek finishing as the year-end No. 1.
Last year, however, both players won one major. This year, the award winner is maybe even more surprising, as Sabalenka won two Grand Slam titles and also two WTA 1000 trophies. Still, she didn't win the award.
In the men's singles category, there was no doubt about the winner. Although Carlos Alcaraz also lifted two major trophies like Sinner, the Italian dominated in the rest of the tournaments, proving that he was the best player in the world in 2024.
In men's doubles, Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic won the award, while the Italian duo Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini were named the ITF World Champions in the women's doubles.
Tokito Oda won the men's wheelchair category, Diede De Groot in the women's, and Sam Schroder won in the quad category. The ITF President, David Haggerty, congratulated the winners after the announcement was made.
"Congratulations to all our 2024 ITF World Champions. Last year was a memorable year for our sport with the staging of the Olympic and Paralympic Games alongside our traditional team events, and we see with several of our award winners that representing their country inspired them to even greater achievements in 2024. We wish these and all players every success in 2025."
