WTA world number one Iga Swiatek has been nominated for the 2023 Individual Sportswoman of the Year award granted by the Women's Sports Foundation.
The Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) was founded by tennis icon Billie Jean King almost 50 years ago and recognizes exceptional achievements of sportswomen at both an individual and team level over a 12-month period.
Swiatek is the only tennis player who features in the 10-woman list in the individual category that includes undefeated American boxer and mixed martial artist Claressa Shields, record-breaking Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin and record-setting track and field athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
Although the award rewards the 2023 Sportswoman of the Year in its current year, all nominees were selected based on performances between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023. In Swiatek's case, she was the most successful and dominant tennis player in that time span.
The Pole won the 2022 US Open and the 2023 French Open, whilst also finishing world no. 1 for the first time at the end of the season. Swiatek also became the third player in WTA history to rank number one for 70 consecutive weeks in their first stint.
Should she emerge the winner, Swiatek will be the first tennis player since Serena Williams to win that distinction. Williams won the award back in 2015 following her jaw-dropping season in which she won three Grand Slams and fell two matches short of completing the Calendar Slam.
The public and the WSF Awards Committee select the award winners through a vote. The winner in each category will be the athlete who receives the highest combined share of a public vote (50% of composite) and the Awards Committee vote (50% of composite).
You can cast your vote by visiting the Women's Sports Foundation website. The final winners in both the individual and team categories will be announced on October 12, 2023, at the Annual Salute in New York City.
0 Comments