Iga Swiatek's historic 2022 season has earned her a top ESPY Award nomination by the American sports network ESPN and ABC.
Swiatek is among four nominees for the Best Athlete, Women’s Sports honor, and was nominated for the top honor for the first time. She's vying for the award against two fellow ESPY rookies: the WNBA’s A’ja Wilson and the NWSL’s Sophia Smith, as well as her good friend, Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin.
Swiatek posted a 67-9 record in 2022, the year in which she ascended to World No.1 following the retirement of Ashleigh Barty. She won eight titles, including her second and third Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros and the US Open, and posted a 37-match winning streak from February to July, the longest such streak this century.
For her efforts, she was named the 2022 WTA Player of the Year, and the 2022 ITF World Champion. The accolades have continued into this year, in which she was also named the Polish Sports Personality of the Year, and landed on TIME's 100 Most Influential People list.
Swiatek, who is also featured in Part 2 of Netflix's "Break Point," also makes up one-fourth of the "Best Tennis Player" category along with Aryna Sabalenka, and the ATP Tour's Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. Last year, she was in the category with Ashleigh Barty and Emma Raducanu, the eventual winner.
Awarded since 1993, the ESPY Awards recognize excellence in team and individual sports performance, among other charitable and special categories. The 2023 ESPY Awards will air on ABC on July 12.
