Aryna Sabalenka was named the women's ITF World Champion in 2023 after the most successful season of her career.
The Belarusian's raw firepower has always been palpable, and throughout her successful career, she has always managed to win titles and stay well inside of the Top 15 in the WTA Rankings.
However, she often struggled with different parts of her game, such as her serve, and despite finishing the 2021 season as the world no. 2, Sabalenka was far from showing her full potential.
That happened in 2023 when she started the year by winning the Australian Open, and throughout the season, she led the 2023 WTA Race ahead of her main rival, Iga Swiatek, yet it was the Pole who ended the year as the world no. 1.
And despite collecting many accolades, such as the WTA Player of the Year, Swiatek didn't become the ITF World Champion, as that title goes to Sabalenka in 2023 for the first time in her career.
ITF, which is an organization that takes care of the four Grand Slam tournaments in the tennis calendar, looks at the results at these tournaments, so it's not a surprise that Sabalenka received the award despite not finishing the year as world no. 1.
Sabalenka was by far the woman at the Grand Slams in 2023, winning the Australian Open, reaching the semifinals at the Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and playing the final of the US Open.
Given some of the scorelines, she could have technically won all of the Grand Slams this year, but that didn't happen. Yet, Sabalenka's major performances were superior to her colleagues, and that's why she received the award, which she was happy for.
"2023 has been an incredible season for me and I’m very happy to be named ITF World Champion. From winning my first Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open to reaching world No. 1 for the first time, it has been an amazing year."
"I’m very grateful to my family, my team and my fans for their support in 2023 and I can’t wait to get back out on court for the new season in January."
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