Nominees for WTA Most Improved Player of the Year Paula Badosa (ESP) Leylah Fernandez (CAN) Ons Jabeur (TUN) Anett Kontaveit (EST) Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) Jessica Pegula (USA) Maria Sakkari (GRE)
The WTA has released the names of players nominated for the WTA Most Improved Player of the Year and it's a very good list.
This year has been a good year for players who have made a tremendous step forward in their career as the Most Improved Player of the Year award features a list of seven players that have all had tremendous breakout seasons on the tour. Leading the charge is Paula Badosa who recently played at the WTA Finals for the first time in her career. The Spanish player saw her ranking improve dramatically over the course of the year ending in the top 10 along with a WTA 1000 trophy won in Indian Wells.
Leylah Fernandez made her breakout at the US Open where she reached the final narrowly losing out to Emma Raducanu. The Canadian has been a steady performer for over a year now but saw her ranking improve dramatically after the US Open. She also won her maiden WTA trophy earlier in the year. Ons Jabeur has been one of the more consistent players all season long with strong performances on all surfaces.
She became the first Arab woman to enter the top 10 while also winning her maiden WTA Trophy this year. Barbora Krejcikova probably had the best season out of all players as she firmly solidified herself inside the top 10 after repeated success during the year. She won her maiden grand slam trophy at the French man while adding a few doubles trophies as well.
Jessica Pegula arguably had the weakest season compared to others but the American became a very consistent performer on the tour rarely losing early in events. She has placed well in all grand slams this season while also breaking inside the top 30 for the first time. Anett Kontaveit had a historic finish to the season that saw her capture multiple titles in the final two months of the season.
That allowed her to compete at the WTA Finals where she narrowly lost to Garbine Muguruza in the final. Maria Sakkari had another smashing season with the Greek layer becoming the first Greek woman to be ranked inside the top 10 as well as play at the WTA Finals. She also narrowly missed out on winning the French Open which would have been the crowning achievement of her career.
Nominees for WTA Most Improved Player of the Year Paula Badosa (ESP) Leylah Fernandez (CAN) Ons Jabeur (TUN) Anett Kontaveit (EST) Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) Jessica Pegula (USA) Maria Sakkari (GRE)