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In other results of voting by tennis media,
Emma Navarro was honored as Most Improved Player, Paula Badosa
was named Comeback Player, Lulu Sun was Newcomer of the Year,
and Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini were picked as the Doubles
Team of the Year.
Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus, won the Australian Open
in January and the U.S. Open in September, along with two other
titles this season, going 56-14 with nearly $10 million in prize
money. She overtook Iga Swiatek for the top ranking in October.
Navarro made her debut in the WTA's top 10 in September after
making her deepest Grand Slam run at the U.S. Open, where she
eliminated defending champion Coco Gauff in the fourth round
before losing to Sabalenka in the semifinals.
The 23-year-old Navarro, who grew up in South Carolina and won
the 2021 NCAA singles championship at the University of
Virginia, won her first tour title at Hobart, Australia, in
January, and moved from No. 32 in the rankings at the start of
2024 to No. 8 at the end.
Badosa sat out the last half of 2023 with a back injury but the
27-year-old Spaniard was back near the top of the sport this
year, climbing to No. 12 in the rankings, winning the title in
Washington and equaling her best result at a Grand Slam
tournament by getting to the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
Sun went from outside the top 200 in the rankings to a
career-best No. 39, highlighted by a quarterfinal showing as a
qualifier at Wimbledon in July and a runner-up finish at the
Monterrey Open in August. Sun, 23, was born in New Zealand, grew
up in Switzerland and helped the University of Texas win an NCAA
team championship.
Errani and Paolini won a doubles gold medal for Italy at the
Paris Olympics and helped their country win the Billie Jean King
Cup. They also reached the French Open doubles final together.
In singles, Paolini was the runner-up at both the French Open
and Wimbledon.
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