ITF World Champions explained

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) designates a World Champion each year based on its own majority opinion of performances throughout the year, emphasizing the Grand Slam tournaments,[1] and also considering team events such as the Davis Cup and Fed Cup.[2] Men's and women's singles champions were first named in 1978; the title is now also awarded for doubles, wheelchair, and junior players.[3] It is sometimes named the "ITF Player of the Year" award, alluding to similar other year-end awards in tennis.[4]

Rules and procedures

The ITF's constitution states that no tennis tournament can be designated the "World Championships" without unanimous consent of the ITF Council.[5] There is currently no such tournament. The constitution also states:[6]

The ITF may award the title of World Champion to players who, in the opinion of the Board of Directors, are the most outstanding players in any one-year. The names of players who have been awarded this title shall be listed in the Roll of Honour.

The opinion of the Board of Directors is taken to be equivalent to the majority opinions of the members of the Board.

It also states:[1]

Official Tennis Championships [i.e. the Grand Slam events] shall be the decisive factor in the determination of the ITF World Champions for each year.

The boys' and girls' singles and doubles titles prior to 2003 were awarded based on world ranking. Since then singles and doubles rankings have been combined in a single award each for boys and for girls.[7]

The world champion accolade has been extended by the ITF to wheelchair tennis players of the Men's and Women's division since 1991 and also based on world ranking. In November 2017, the ITF announced that the quad wheelchair tennis division is to be recognised in its annual list of ITF World Champions.[8]

In 1996, the Philippe Chatrier Award was introduced, honouring individuals or organisations who have made outstanding contributions to tennis globally, both on and off the court. The award is considered to be the ITF's highest accolade and is named after the former French tennis player Philippe Chatrier, who was President of the governing body between 1977 and 1991.[9]

The ITF World Champions Dinner takes place annually to honour the previous year's champions,[10] who are presented with a trophy, but not any monetary prize. The dinner was held during the French Open up until 2022, but since 2023 has been held during Wimbledon.

For 2020 there were no ITF World Champion awards given due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tennis season was suspended for about 5 months for both the female and the male tennis players.[11]

Men's singles

The first men's panel in 1978 had three members, Don Budge, Fred Perry, and Lew Hoad,[12] [13] who attended the season's Grand Slam events at ITF expense to inform their choice.[14] The 1983 panel split two to one between John McEnroe (votes of Budge and Perry) and Mats Wilander (vote of Hoad).[15] The 1984 panel had five members,[16] while the 1985 panel had four: Budge, Perry, Hoad, and Tony Trabert. When Ivan Lendl was chosen as champion for 1985, the panel's announcement was accompanied with a rebuke for Lendl's criticism of some tournaments and his refusal to play in the Davis Cup.[17] Perry and Trabert were on the 1986 panel, with performances outside the Grand Slams taken into consideration.[18]

The 1990 designation of Lendl as champion was a surprise. That year, the Association of Tennis Professionals named Stefan Edberg its "Player of The Year", in accordance with the ATP rankings, while Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Edberg first, Andre Agassi second, and Lendl third. Tennis also suggested the ITF was punishing Edberg for denigrating the Grand Slam Cup tournament it had introduced.[19] The ITF panel, of Perry, Trabert, and Frank Sedgman, called it "the toughest decision any of us can remember having to make", and stated it was Lendl's better average performance in the Grand Slams that made the difference.[20]

The choice to award Djokovic the ITF World Champion of 2013 over Nadal was unexpected. Nadal finished the year ranked #1 and with more Grand Slams (2 to 1), more Masters titles (5 to 3), and more tournament titles (10 to 7). Similar to the situation with Edberg in 1990, the ITF cited Nadal's failure to win a match at 2 of the 4 Grand Slams (DNP the Australian Open, 1st round loss at Wimbledon) to justify their decision and Djokovic's consistent results across all four Grand Slams (1 title, 2 runner-ups, 1 SF), Davis Cup (led Serbia to final, won 7/7 singles rubbers) and the ATP World Tour Finals (won title).[21]

Other instances when the ITF choices differed from the ATP rankings are 1978 (Jimmy Connors), 1982 (McEnroe), 1989 (Lendl), and 2022 (Carlos Alcaraz). None of these were controversial, with the 1978 and 1982 choices being particularly clear cut in favor of Borg (1978) and Connors (1982). Nadal won in 2022, despite Alcaraz being the year-end number 1; Nadal won two Grand Slam titles, while Alcaraz failed to reach the semi-final stage in three of four Grand Slams.

width=50Yearwidth=200Player
Björn Borg
Björn Borg
Björn Borg
John McEnroe
Jimmy Connors
John McEnroe
John McEnroe
Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl
Mats Wilander
Boris Becker
Ivan Lendl
Stefan Edberg
Jim Courier
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras
Andre Agassi
Gustavo Kuerten
Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Hewitt
Andy Roddick
Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Andy Murray
Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic
Rafael Nadal
No award due to COVID-19 pandemic
Novak Djokovic
Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic

Women's singles

The women's panel initially featured three former women's champions, Margaret Court, Margaret duPont and Ann Jones.[22] [12] [13] Althea Gibson was a member through the early 1980s.[23]

ITF world champions for women differed from the WTA year-end rankings the following years: 1978 (Martina Navratilova), 1994 (Steffi Graf), 2001 (Lindsay Davenport), 2004 (Lindsay Davenport), 2005 (Lindsay Davenport), 2011 (Caroline Wozniacki), 2012 (Victoria Azarenka), 2017 (Simona Halep), 2023 (Iga Swiatek).

width=50Yearwidth=200Player
1978 Chris Evert
1979 Martina Navratilova
1980 Chris Evert (2)
1981 Chris Evert (3)
1982 Martina Navratilova (2)
1983 Martina Navratilova (3)
1984 Martina Navratilova (4)
1985 Martina Navratilova (5)
1986 Martina Navratilova (6)
1987 Steffi Graf
1988 Steffi Graf (2)
1989 Steffi Graf (3)
1990 Steffi Graf (4)
1991 Monica Seles
1992 Monica Seles (2)
1993 Steffi Graf (5)
1994 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
1995 Steffi Graf (6)
1996 Steffi Graf (7)
1997 Martina Hingis
1998 Lindsay Davenport
1999 Martina Hingis (2)
2000 Martina Hingis (3)
2001 Jennifer Capriati
2002 Serena Williams
2003 Justine Henin
2004 Anastasia Myskina
2005 Kim Clijsters
2006 Justine Henin (2)
2007 Justine Henin (3)
2008 Jelena Janković
2009 Serena Williams (2)
2010 Caroline Wozniacki
2011 Petra Kvitová
2012 Serena Williams (3)
2013 Serena Williams (4)
2014 Serena Williams (5)
2015 Serena Williams (6)
2016 Angelique Kerber
2017 Garbiñe Muguruza
2018 Simona Halep
2019 Ashleigh Barty
2020 No award due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Ashleigh Barty (2)
Iga Świątek
Aryna Sabalenka
width=50TotalPlayer
7
6
3
2
1 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Lindsay Davenport
Jennifer Capriati
Anastasia Myskina
Kim Clijsters
Jelena Janković
Caroline Wozniacki
Petra Kvitová
Angelique Kerber
Garbiñe Muguruza
Simona Halep
Iga Świątek
Aryna Sabalenka

Doubles

Men's doubles

YearPlayer
1996 Todd Woodbridge & Mark Woodforde
1997 Todd Woodbridge (2) & Mark Woodforde (2)
1998 Jacco Eltingh & Paul Haarhuis
1999
2000 Todd Woodbridge (3) & Mark Woodforde (3)
2001 Jonas Björkman & Todd Woodbridge (4)
2002 Mark Knowles & Daniel Nestor
2003 Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan
2004 Bob Bryan (2) & Mike Bryan (2)
2005 Bob Bryan (3) & Mike Bryan (3)
2006 Bob Bryan (4) & Mike Bryan (4)
2007 Bob Bryan (5) & Mike Bryan (5)
2008
2009 Bob Bryan (6) & Mike Bryan (6)
2010 Bob Bryan (7) & Mike Bryan (7)
2011 Bob Bryan (8) & Mike Bryan (8)
2012 Bob Bryan (9) & Mike Bryan (9)
2013 Bob Bryan (10) & Mike Bryan (10)
2014 Bob Bryan (11) & Mike Bryan (11)
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020 No award due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021
2022
2023 Joe Salisbury (2) & Rajeev Ram (2)

Women's doubles

Year Player
1996 Lindsay Davenport & Mary Joe Fernández
1997 Lindsay Davenport (2) & Jana Novotná
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003 Virginia Ruano Pascual (2) & Paola Suárez (2)
2004 Virginia Ruano Pascual (3) & Paola Suárez (3)
2005
2006 Lisa Raymond (3) & Samantha Stosur (2)
2007
2008 Cara Black (2) & Liezel Huber (2)
2009
2010
2011 Květa Peschke & Katarina Srebotnik
2012 Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci
2013 Sara Errani (2) & Roberta Vinci (2)
2014 Sara Errani (3) & Roberta Vinci (3)
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019 Tímea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic (2)
2020 No award due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Barbora Krejčíková (2) & Kateřina Siniaková (2)
2022 Barbora Krejčíková (3) & Kateřina Siniaková (3)
2023 Storm Hunter & Elise Mertens

Junior

Boys' combined (2004–)

YearPlayer
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020 No award due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021
2022
2023 João Fonseca

Girls' combined (2004–)

YearPlayer
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020 No award due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021
2022
2023

Singles (1978–2003)

Boys' singles

YearPlayer
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003

Girls' singles

YearPlayer
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003

Doubles (1978–2003)

Boys' doubles

YearPlayer
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003

Girls' doubles

YearPlayer
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003

Wheelchair

Men's wheelchair

YearPlayer
1991
1992
1993
1994 Laurent Giammartini (2)
1995
1996
1997 Ricky Molier (2)
1998 David Hall (2)
1999
2000 David Hall (3)
2001 Ricky Molier (3)
2002 David Hall (4)
2003 David Hall (5)
2004 David Hall (6)
2005
2006
2007
2008 Shingo Kunieda (2)
2009 Shingo Kunieda (3)
2010 Shingo Kunieda (4)
2011
2012
2013 Shingo Kunieda (5)
2014 Shingo Kunieda (6)
2015 Shingo Kunieda (7)
2016
2017
2018 Shingo Kunieda (8)
2019 Gustavo Fernández (2)
2020 No award due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Shingo Kunieda (9)
2022 Shingo Kunieda (10)
2023 Alfie Hewett

Women's wheelchair

YearPlayer
1991
1992
1993 Monique Kalkman (2)
1994 Monique Kalkman (3)
1995 Monique Kalkman (4)
1996 Chantal Vandierendonck (2)
1997 Chantal Vandierendonck (3)
1998
1999 Daniela Di Toro (2)
2000
2001 Esther Vergeer (2)
2002 Esther Vergeer (3)
2003 Esther Vergeer (4)
2004 Esther Vergeer (5)
2005 Esther Vergeer (6)
2006 Esther Vergeer (7)
2007 Esther Vergeer (8)
2008 Esther Vergeer (9)
2009 Esther Vergeer (10)
2010 Esther Vergeer (11)
2011 Esther Vergeer (12)
2012 Esther Vergeer (13)
2013
2014
2015
2016 Jiske Griffioen (2)
2017 Yui Kamiji (2)
2018
2019 Diede de Groot (2)
2020 No award due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Diede de Groot (3)
2022 Diede de Groot (4)
2023 Diede de Groot (5)

Quad's wheelchair

YearPlayer
2017
2018
2019 Dylan Alcott (2)
2020 No award due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Dylan Alcott (3)
2022
2023 Niels Vink (2)

See also

References

ITF Constitution:

Footnotes

External links

Notes and References

  1. ITF Constitution, p.26, Rule 2.2(a)(iii)
  2. News: ITF opt for Hewitt and Capriati. 2 December 2001. BBC Online. 20 December 2013.
  3. ITF Constitution, p.53 Appendix E
  4. Web site: Rafael Nadal, Garbine Muguruza win ITF Player of the Year awards. 2017-12-08. ESPN.com. en. 2018-12-14.
  5. ITF Constitution, p.29: Article 29(a)
  6. ITF Constitution, p.38 Regulation 3.1
  7. ITF Constitution, Appendix E, pp.53, 60
  8. Web site: ITF Tennis - WHEELCHAIR - Articles - ITF to honour quad wheelchair world champions . www.itftennis.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20171213210321/http://www.itftennis.com/276840?channel=itfwheelchairtennisnews . 2017-12-13.
  9. News: Gillen . Nancy . Santana and Stolle receive ITF Philippe Chatrier Award . 15 July 2020 . Inside the Games . 1 April 2020.
  10. Web site: World Champions Dinner. 2013. ITF. 20 December 2013. 16 August 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130816012612/http://www.itftennis.com/about/world-champions/champions-dinner.aspx. dead.
  11. Web site: ITF celebrates 2019 World Champions . www.itftennis.com . 29 May 2021.
  12. News: Borg: Sitting on top of the World. Associated Press. Evening Independent. 11C. 20 December 2013. 17 January 1979. St. Petersburg, Florida. Google News Archive.
  13. Joe Jares. Champion by committee. Sports Illustrated. February 13, 1978. 48. 8. 11.
  14. The New Yorker . The Sports Scene: Budge and the Grand Slam . "Wind . Herbert Warren . Herbert Warren Wind . 63 . 15 February 1978 . 76.
  15. News: McEnroe tapped as world's best. UPI. 17 January 1984. The Bulletin. D-1. 20 December 2013. Bend, Oregon.
  16. News: McEnroe crowned World Champ by tennis panel. 17 January 1985. Gainesville Sun. 3E. 20 December 2013.
  17. News: All the awards, plus a rebuke. Fogarty. Mark. 21 January 1986. The Age. 48. 20 December 2013.
  18. News: It's official: Lendl best in world. 11 December 1986. Boca Raton News. 4D. 20 December 2013.
  19. Tennis . France . February 1991 . 179 . On' a choisi de sanctionner un champion qui n'avait pas craint d'avouer publiquement le peu d'importance qu'il accordait à la Coupe du Grand Chelem, la fameuse invention de la FIT pour 'casser' l'ATP Tour. (It was decided to punish a champion who was not afraid to admit publicly how little he thought of the Grand Slam Cup, the famous ITF invention to 'break' the ATP Tour) . fr.
  20. News: Lendl, not Edberg, named tennis world champion . Associated Press . 18 December 1990 . . 1C . 20 December 2013.
  21. News: Williams and Djokovic named 2013 ITF World Champion . 18 December 2013 . ITF . 15 September 2018 . 24 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220124030457/https://www.itftennis.com/news/163361.aspx . dead .
  22. News: Ron Rosen. Fie to Computers, Let People Decide. Washington Post. January 17, 1978.
  23. News: Obituaries: Althea Gibson. Flink. Steve. 30 September 2003. The Independent. 20 December 2013.