ST PETERSBURG, FL, USA – The WTA have announced  the winners of the annual WTA Player Awards - headlined by Player of the Year Garbiñe Muguruza, and Doubles Team of the Year Martina Hingis and Chan Yung-Jan, as well as the Jerry Diamond ACES award, granted to Germany’s Angelique Kerber.  

Players were recognized at The Gala Evening at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. 

The 2017 WTA Award winners, as voted by members of the international media:

Player of the Year: Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP)

  • Climbed to World No.1 after the US Open, becoming the 24th woman in WTA history and just the second from Spain (Sánchez-Vicario in 1995) to achieve the top ranking
  • Claimed her second career Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, becoming the only player to defeat both Williams sisters in a Grand Slam final, at Roland Garros (d. S.Williams in 2016) and Wimbledon (d. V.Williams in 2017)
  •  Also reached the semifinals or better at Brisbane, Rome, Birmingham, Stanford, and Tokyo PPO, including another title in Cincinnati
  • First to qualify for the 2017 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global – her third consecutive appearance at the year-end event

    Doubles Team of the Year: Martina Hingis (SUI)/Chan Yung-Jan (TPE)

    • A dominant season has seen this dynamic duo capture nine titles at Indian Wells, Madrid, Rome, Mallorca, Eastbourne, Cincinnati, US Open, Wuhan and Beijing 
    • Own a remarkable 49-6 record on the year, including a flawless 9-0 mark in finals
    • Ascended to the top two spots in the doubles rankings and became the first of two teams to qualify for the WTA Finals
    • Advanced to at least the quarterfinal stage at every tournament they’ve played in together this season
    • Won back-to-back titles on four separate occasions and captured the duo’s first career Grand Slam title at the US Open (Hingis’ 13th overall in doubles and Chan’s first)

    Most Improved Player of the Year: Jelena Ostapenko (LAT)
    Player who finished inside the Top 100 and showed significant improvement throughout the 2017 season

    • Improved +37 spots from end of 2016 (No.44 to No.7)
    • Won first tour-level singles title and Grand Slam trophy at Roland Garros, where she became the lowest-ranked player, and first unseeded player, to lift the trophy in the Open Era
    • One of just eight players to win at least two titles in 2017, Roland Garros and Seoul
    • Has played 26 three-set matches this season (19-7 record) – more than any other player on tour 
    • Qualified for 2017 WTA Finals in Singapore for the first time in her career
    • Reached career-high ranking of No.7 on October 9, 2017, making Top 10 debut on September 11, 2017

    Newcomer of the Year: Catherine Bellis (USA) 
    Player who made Top 100 debut or notable accomplishments during the 2017 season, and prior to current year, had not played in more than 6 main draw events at tour-level in a single season

    • Ended 2016 season at No.90; reached a career-high ranking of No.35 on August 14, 2017; currently sits at No.44 
    • Season highlighted by semifinal showings at Mallorca and Stanford and quarterfinal finishes at Dubai and Rabat
    • Also advanced to the third round at Roland Garros and Toronto
    • By reaching 3r at Roland Garros this year, became the third American since the turn of the 21st century to reach this stage in Paris before turning 19 (also Harkleroad, 2003, and Townsend, 2014)
    • Scored four Top 20 wins throughout season: No.6 A.Radwanska at Dubai, No.18 Bertens at Roland Garros, No.14 Kvitova at Stanford and No.8 Kuznetsova at Toronto

    Comeback Player of the Year: Sloane Stephens (USA)
    Player whose ranking previously dropped due to injury or personal reasons and current season's results helped restore ranking

    • Ended 2016 season prematurely in August with a left foot injury that required surgery in January 2017; ranking dropped to No.957
    • Returned to action at Wimbledon, losing to countrywoman Riske in 1r followed by another 1r exit at Washington DC (lost to No.2 Halep)
    • Began incredible run back to the top at Toronto where she defeated two Top 20 players en route to the semifinals (d. No.14 Kvitova and No.3 Kerber) before advancing to same round at Cincinnati (d. No.14 Kvitova for second straight week)
    • Won first Grand Slams singles title (and fifth career title overall) at US Open in August; owns perfect 5-0 record in finals
    • Defeated five seeds en route to the US Open title including No.11 Cibulkova, No.9 V.Williams and then No.15 Keys in the final
    • At No.83 was the lowest-ranked player to win the US Open title in the Open Era (aside from unranked Clijsters)
    • Ranking subsequently rose to No.17 following the US Open; currently sits at No.15, and qualified for the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai

    Jerry Diamond ACES Award: Angelique Kerber (GER)
    The Jerry Diamond ACES Award is presented to the player who consistently goes above and beyond in promoting the sport of women’s tennis to fans, media, and local communities by performing off-court promotional and charitable activities. The ACES Award was first introduced in 1995, in memory of former WTA CEO Jerry Diamond.

    Angelique Kerber has earned the ACES award for the first time in her career. The German participated in numerous kids' clinics, charitable activities and fan-friendly events throughout the globe to help bring the game closer to the community.

    The awards, presented in person to those recipients in attendance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, are an exclusive woven crystal platter by Tiffany & Co.