The 9 players who have won the WTA Player of the Year award more than once as Iga Swiatek joins elite list
Iga Swiatek has become only the ninth player to be crowned WTA Player of the Year award more than once and she has done it in back-to-back seasons.
The four-time Grand Slam winner, though, still has some way to go if she is to challenge some of the all-time tennis greats in the women’s game for most WTA Player of the Year gongs.
Swiatek is also the first player to win back-to-back titles since Serena Williams won four in a row from 2012 to 2015. The pair are part of a six-player club to have won it in consecutive years as Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport also feature.
The prestigious award was first handed out in 1977 and Great Britain’s Virginia Wade was the first recipient.
Players with the most WTA Player of the Year award
1. Steffi Graf – 8
Tennis great Steffi Graf made her Grand Slam breakthrough in 1987 as she won the French Open while she also finished runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open.
She earned her first WTA Player of the Year award that year and proceeded to win the title for four years in a row until 1990.
There was no doubting her award in 1988 as she won the Golden Slam (four Grand Slams and Olympic gold) while in 1989 she won another three majors.
Her dominance was broken by Monica Seles in 1991, but she won another four in a row from the 1993 campaign. In three of those seasons she won three of the four Grand Slams.
2. Martina Navratilova and Serena Williams – 7
Before Graf arrived on the scene, Martina Navratilova dominated the award as she won back-to-back titles in 1978 and 1979 as she was recognised for winning 11 tournaments and 10 titles, respectively during those years.
Tracy Austin and Chris Evert won the award the next two years before Navratilova won five in a row from 1982 to 1986.
Navratilova won 15 titles – including two majors in 1982, 16 (three Grand Slams) in 1983, 13 (three majors) in 1984, 12 (two majors) in 1985 and 14 (two majors) in 1986.
Serena Williams won her first WTA Player of the Year award in 2002 after winning the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.
She had to wait six years before her next gong and she ended up winning back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009.
The American great then won four in a row from 2012 with her best year coming in 2015 as she won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon, and also reached the semi-final of the US Open.
READ MORE: The 15 players to finish as WTA year-end No 1 as Iga Swiatek ends second-straight year on top
=3. Monica Seles
Monica Seles broke Steffi Graf’s stranglehold on the award as she won in 1991 and 1992.
The Yugoslavia-born great won 10 titles during the 1991 season, including the Australian Open, French Open, US Open and year-end championships.
And she did it before she turned 18 as she was born on December 2, 1973.
History repeated itself in 1992 as Seles again won the same three majors and year-end championships while she also finished runner-up at Wimbledon.
=3. Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport became the first American since Navratilova to win the WTA Player of the Year award when she took the gong in 1998.
She finished the 1998 campaign as the world No 1 on the back of winning her maiden Grand Slam, the US Open.
The following year Davenport won Wimbledon and reached the semi-final of the Australian Open and US Open. Davenport, though, did not finish as world No 1 as that honour went to Martina Hingis, who interestingly won the player award just once in 1997.
=3. Justine Henin
Justine Henin won eight tournaments in 2003 and finished as the year-end No 1 in the WTA Rankings.
The Belgian won her maiden Grand Slam at Roland Garros and also tasted success at the US Open as she finished the year with eight titles.
Her next player of the year award came in 2007 when she won 10 of the 11 finals that she appeared in. Henin once again won the French Open and US Open, as well as the WTA Tour Championships.
=3. Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters won nine WTA singles titles in 2005, but didn’t finish the year at No 1 as Davenport claimed that honour. The Belgian finished second in the rankings and won the US Open.
After retiring in 2007, Clisjters returned to the Tour in 2010 and had an immediate impact as she won the US Open and year-end WTA Tour Championships, defeating world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the process.
=3. Ashleigh Barty
Ashleigh Barty won her first WTA Player of the Year award in 2019 after winning her first Grand Slam at the French Open, the WTA Finals and finishing the year at No 1.
She won five titles in 2021 with her biggest title coming at Wimbledon. Her other big titles came at the Miami Open, Stuttgart Open and Cincinnati Masters. She once again ended at the top of the rankings.
=3. Iga Swiatek
Two years after her breakthrough season, Iga Swiatek enjoyed a dominant 2022 campaign as she won the French Open and US Open and finished the year at No 1 in the WTA Rankings.
The Pole won eight titles and also went 37 matches unbeaten at one stage.
She made it back-to-back WTA Player of the Year awards in 2023 and this time she had to fight off the challenge from Aryna Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open, for the title.
Swiatek won the French Open and WTA Finals to finish at No 1.
