WTA ANNOUNCES 2011 PLAYER AND TOURNAMENT AWARDS

Written by: Staff on 14th November 2011

WTA ANNOUNCES 2011 PLAYER AND TOURNAMENT AWARDS

Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic returns the ball to Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia during their Fed Cup World Group final tennis match in Moscow, Russia 06 November 2011. EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV |

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA, USA – The WTA, the Women’s Tennis Association, announced today the winners of the 2011 annual Player and Tournament Awards. Nine players were honored by the fans and the media for their outstanding achievements both on and off the court during the 2011 season, and two tournaments were recognized by the players themselves.

Petra Kvitova was voted the WTA’s 2011 Player of the Year for the first time in her career. The 21-year-old Czech has enjoyed a superb season, highlighted by winning her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon and the season-ending TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships at Istanbul, while improving her ranking from No.34 to No.2. In addition to winning six tournaments to match the WTA-leading achievement of World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, Kvitova won all six of her Fed Cup matches in 2011 to spearhead the Czech Republic’s first victory in the team competition as an independent nation. Kvitova ended the season winning two back-to-back tournaments and is headed into the 2012 season on a 12-match winning streak.

“This season has been simply a dream,” said Petra Kvitova. “It is an incredible honor to win the Player of the Year award and join the ranks of some of the best players that have ever played the sport, especially Martina Navratilova. I will always cherish the 2011 season and look forward to building on it.”

Previous recipients of the Player of the Year award include such greats as Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Martina Hingis, and Kim Clijsters.

For her on-court achievements, Kvitova was also named Most Improved Player and was further honored with the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award, which acknowledges a player’s professionalism, attitude and sense of fair play.

The World No.1 doubles team of Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik earned their first award for Doubles Team of the Year. In a fiercely-contested season, the Czech/Slovenian duo won a WTA-leading six titles, highlighted by Wimbledon, the first Grand Slam for both. Peschke and Srebotnik began the season by capturing the trophy at the ASB Classic (Auckland) and went on to win titles at the Qatar Ladies Open (Doha), AEGON International (Eastbourne), Mercury Insurance Open (Carlsbad) and the China Open (Beijing). They also reached four finals, including the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships.

Irina-Camelia Begu won the Newcomer of the Year award after a breakthrough season that saw the young Romanian rise from World No.214 to World No.38, finishing the season at World No.40. Now 21, Begu reached her first WTA final at the Andalucia Tennis Experience (Marbella) as a qualifier, and a second final at the GDF SUEZ Grand Prix (Budapest).

Comeback Player of the Year honors went to Sabine Lisicki. Now 22, the big-serving German first made headlines in 2009 when she won her first WTA title at the Family Circle Cup (Charleston) and reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, finishing the year ranked World No.23. Lisicki’s 2010 was marred by injuries and by March of this year, she had fallen out of the Top 200. In a stunning reversal of fortune, Lisicki won two titles in 2011, the AEGON Classic (Birmingham) and the Texas Tennis Open (Dallas). She reached three semifinals-at the Bank of the West Classic (Stanford), the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions (Bali) and, as a wildcard, at Wimbledon – the first German to reach the last four at any major in 12 years. While attaining a new career-high ranking of World No.15 in singles, Lisicki also found success in doubles, winning the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart) and reaching the final at Wimbledon, both with Sam Stosur.

For her off-court achievements Francesca Schiavone won the Player Service Award, which recognizes the player who has done the most to support her fellow players through the WTA Players’ Council and other initiatives.

The winners of the annual player awards for Player of the Year, Doubles Team of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year are determined by the global tennis media, with WTA players themselves selecting Tournaments of the Year, Sportsmanship and Player Service award.

Fans were also given an opportunity to vote for their Favorite Singles Player, Doubles Team and Breakthrough Player. Kvitova earned yet another award, this time by the fans, as she scooped up the Breakthrough Player category.

Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska was named Fan Favorite Singles Player. A Top 10 regular, the 22-year-old Pole won three Premier titles in the second half of 2011, at the Mercury Insurance Open (Carlsbad), Toray Pan Pacific Open (Tokyo) and China Open (Beijing). These efforts helped Radwanska secure a place at the prestigious year-end TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships for the first time in her career.

The duo of Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko were named Fan Favorite Doubles Team. In 2011 they won titles at the Mutua Madrid Open (Madrid) and the Bank of the West Classic (Stanford), and were finalists at the Australian Open and the Rogers Cup (Toronto).

WTA players also voted on Tournaments of the Year, with the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart) retaining its crown as favorite Premier event, and the Abierto Mexicano TELCEL (Acapulco) named favorite International event. The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix has been a player favorite tour stop for years with the event’s close proximity to beautiful Stuttgart and first class accommodations that offer the athletes the best possible experience. The enthusiastic crowds pack the stands full every day. The Abierto Mexicano TELCEL is a joint event taking place on a beautiful beach resort in Mexico, where the players are welcomed by amazing tournament staff and enthusiastic tennis fans to enjoy a week in tropical paradise.

For a complete listing of the 2011 WTA Player Awards, please visit www.wtatennis.com.

Topics: Awards, Kvitova, Lisicki, Sharapova, Williams, Wta