"Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka deserve it more": Tennis fans vent at Iga Swiatek sealing WTA Player of the Year for second year in a row

Tennis fans reacted to Iga Swiatek winning the 2023 Player of the Year award for the second consecutive year, and many considered it unfair that she triumphed over contenders like Coco Gauff or Aryna Sabalenka. The Polish player secured six titles in the year, including her third French Open and the WTA Finals.

There were five nominees for the WTA's Player of the Year, including the top four players in the rankings: Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Elena Rybakina, alongside the world No. 6 and Wimbledon champion, Marketa Vondrousova:

“2023 Player of the Year. World No.1 @iga_swiatek has been voted as the WTA Player of the Year for the second year in a row! Winning a tour-leading six titles.”

Not all fans agreed with Swiatek's award. The world No. 2, Aryna Sabalenka, was the favorite for many, having reached the world No. 1 for the first time in her career and achieving a remarkable 23-3 record in Grand Slam events, surpassing Swiatek's 17-3 record.

Nevertheless, the Polish player led several key statistics for the year. Not only did she finish the year at the top of the rankings (which she reclaimed in the last match of the year by winning the WTA Finals), but the four-time Grand Slam champion also secured six titles in 8 finals, recorded 68 victories, 13 of which were against top-10 players, and won 49.7% of returning games—leading in all these categories.

Here are some fan reactions:

“Terrible decision, as bad as the holding the WTA final in the make shift outdoor court, bad weathered, wrong geo location in cancun. Sabalenka is the semi final of all 4 slams, should be the player of the year. How many women player has ever done that ?”

“R4 Australian open QF Wimbledon r4 US open. But ok.”

“Player of the year but not the best slam results of the year….. nobody moved”

“Aryna Sabalenka is the player of the year.”