World No. 1 Iga Swiatek named the WTA Player of the Year for 2022

Swiatek had a thoroughly dominant 2022, including two Grand Slam victories

By Isabel Gonzalez

Dec 12, 2022 at 2:43 pm ET • 1 min read

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World No. 1 Iga Swiatek was named the WTA Player of the Year for the first time in her career. The 2020 Newcomer of the Year had a truly breakout season as she led the tour in finals reached, trophies won and match victories.

Swiatek's successful season saw eight tournament wins, including two Grand Slam titles. She took the French Open in June and the US Open title in September, becoming the first woman to win two Grand Slams in one season since Angelique Kerber in 2016.

She won 67 matches and registered a 37-match winning streak from February to July -- which became the longest undefeated stretch in women's tennis since Steffi Graf won 66 consecutive matches over 1989 and 1990.

"I felt like everything clicked this season," Swiatek said in a video interview with the Associated Press during her unbeaten streak. "And I wasn't expecting to be that consistent."

The 21-year-old from Poland was excellent on clay in 2022 but is still working to improve in grass. Her winning streak ended in the third round of Wimbledon against Alizé Cornet. Swiatek celebrated the end of the season in November with a fun video on Instagram that referenced the Lion King. At the end of the video titled "Queen of Tennis", there is a joke about how "the little dark area" of grass doesn't quite belong to her yet.

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The other WTA awards included Beatriz Haddad Maia as Most Improved Player of the Year, becoming the first Brazilian woman to win one of the WTA player honors since they were introduced in 1977. Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova won Doubles Team of the Year for the second season in a row and third time overall.