At a gala held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Polish player and world No. 1, Iga Swiatek, and Spanish player Rafael Nadal were recognized as the 2022 ITF World Champions.

The organization grants the award based on a formula that takes into account the players' results throughout the year, with a particular emphasis on the Grand Slam tournaments, as well as the major team competitions, such as the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup.

Nadal had an extraordinary start to 2022, winning the titles of the Australian Open and French Open, bringing his total Grand Slam count to 22 in his career. He also reached the semifinals of Wimbledon, where he had to withdraw before facing Nick Kyrgios, and he lifted the trophies at the Melbourne Summer Set Open and Acapulco Open. Although Nadal couldn’t attend the ceremony in person, he sent a video expressing his gratitude.

“In terms of my sports career, the title in Australia has been one of the most emotional ones of my career without a doubt because it was completely unexpected," he said.

"Then what happened in the Indian Wells with the injury and all this happening before Roland Garros. I finally achieved the trophy again, so a big surprise for me. There was a lot of suffering, but also enjoyed the process, that make this 2022 one of the most special years of my career," former world No. 1 added.

The Polish had an impressive streak of 37 consecutive victories, winning six tournaments during that period, including her second Roland Garros title. Later in the season, she also claimed the championship at the US Open and finished the year as the world No. 1. In total, she reached nine finals, emerging victorious in eight of them, which included two Grand Slam titles, four WTA 1000 titles, and two WTA 500 titles.

"Hello everyone, I want to thank you all for this beautiful award. I am really happy that all the work that I have putting on court and off off-court is being appreciated and all this is even inspiring to work even harder," Swiatek said.