Nominees for 2023 WTA Most Improved Player of the Year including Qinwen Zheng and Katie Boulter

The nominees for the 2023 WTA Most Improved Player of the Year have been released, with a few players surprising fans by their solid performances during the 2023 season.

The Award is given to the player who finished inside the Top 100 and/or showed significant improvement throughout the season. These nominees not only shocked the tennis community with their improved performances, but also saw a notable rise in their WTA Rankings.

Zheng Qinwen won her first WTA title on the clay of Palermo in July, before reaching the quarterfinals of the 2023 US Open. The 21-year old would win her second title of the season on home soil in Zhengzhou before reaching the Zhuhai WTA Elite Trophy final. Zheng finished the year ranked as World No.15, after rising from World No.145 to No.22 in 2022.

Katie Boulter claimed her first WTA title in Nottingham without dropping a set, and subsequently reached the third round at both Wimbledon and the US Open. The 27-year-old finished the season at No.58, having been ranked at No.157 as recently as April.

Jasmine Paolini started the 2023 season on a bad note, seeing her ranking fall to World No.71. However, the Italian fought back in the second half, reaching two WTA 250 finals, in Palermo and Monastir, as well as a first WTA 1000 quarterfinal in Cincinnati and a first WTA 500 semifinal in Zhengzhou.

Lin Zhu rose from World No.87 in January to a career-high of No.31 in September. The 28-year old notched her maiden Top 10 win over Maria Sakkari to reach the fourth round of a Slam for the first time at the Australian Open, and would go on to claim her first WTA title in Hua Hin. She would reach a second WTA final in Osaka, before ending the year at World No.36.

Xinyu Wang claimed her first Grand Slam doubles title at Roland Garros alongside Hsieh Su-Wei, and reached her first major fourth-round at the US Open. Her season also included two WTA semifinals in Hua Hin and Osaka, as her ranking rose from World No.97 to No.32.