ITF World Champions

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) designates a World Champion each year based on performances throughout the year, emphasising 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.

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.

For singles, ITF appoints a panel of former top players at the start of the season, which votes on the champion at the end of the season.

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. 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 in Paris during the French Open, to honour the previous year's champions,[10] who are presented with a trophy, but not any monetary prize.[11]

Men's singles

The first men's panel in 1978 had three members, Don Budge, Fred Perry, and Lew Hoad,[11][12] who attended the season's Grand Slam events at ITF expense to inform their choice.[13] The 1983 panel split two to one between John McEnroe (votes of Budge and Perry) and Mats Wilander (vote of Hoad).[14] The 1984 panel had five members,[15] while the 1985 panel had four: Budge, Perry, Hoad, and Tony Trabert.[16] 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.[16] Perry and Trabert were on the 1986 panel, with performances outside the Grand Slams taken into consideration.[17]

The 1990 designation of Lendl as champion was a surprise.[18] 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.[19] 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.[18]

The choice to award Djokovic the ITF World Champion of 2013 over Nadal was unexpected. Nadal finished the year ranked #1 and with more 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 slams (DNP the Australian Open, 1st round loss at Wimbledon) to justify their decision and Djokovic's consistent results across all four 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).[20]

Other instances when the ITF choices differed from the ATP rankings are 1978 (Jimmy Connors), 1982 (McEnroe), 1989 (Lendl). None of these, however, were controversial and were generally agreed upon, with the 1978 and 1982 choices being particularly clear cut in favor of Borg (1978) and Connors (1982).

Women's singles

The women's panel initially featured three former women's champions, Margaret Court, Margaret duPont and Ann Jones.[21][11][12] Althea Gibson was a member through the early 1980s.[22]

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).

Men's doubles

YearPlayerNationality
1996Todd Woodbridge & Mark Woodforde Australia &  Australia
1997Todd Woodbridge (2) & Mark Woodforde (2) Australia &  Australia
1998Jacco Eltingh & Paul Haarhuis Netherlands &  Netherlands
1999Mahesh Bhupathi & Leander Paes India &  India
2000Todd Woodbridge (3) & Mark Woodforde (3) Australia &  Australia
2001Jonas Björkman & Todd Woodbridge (4) Sweden &  Australia
2002Mark Knowles & Daniel Nestor Bahamas &  Canada
2003Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan United States &  United States
2004Bob Bryan (2) & Mike Bryan (2) United States &  United States
2005Bob Bryan (3) & Mike Bryan (3) United States &  United States
2006Bob Bryan (4) & Mike Bryan (4) United States &  United States
2007Bob Bryan (5) & Mike Bryan (5) United States &  United States
2008Daniel Nestor (2) & Nenad Zimonjić Canada &  Serbia
2009Bob Bryan (6) & Mike Bryan (6) United States &  United States
2010Bob Bryan (7) & Mike Bryan (7) United States &  United States
2011Bob Bryan (8) & Mike Bryan (8) United States &  United States
2012Bob Bryan (9) & Mike Bryan (9) United States &  United States
2013Bob Bryan (10) & Mike Bryan (10) United States &  United States
2014Bob Bryan (11) & Mike Bryan (11) United States &  United States
2015Jean-Julien Rojer & Horia Tecău Netherlands &  Romania
2016Jamie Murray & Bruno Soares Great Britain &  Brazil
2017Łukasz Kubot & Marcelo Melo Poland &  Brazil
2018Mike Bryan (12) & Jack Sock United States &  United States
2019Juan Sebastián Cabal & Robert Farah Colombia &  Colombia

Women's doubles

YearPlayerNationality
1996Lindsay Davenport & Mary Joe Fernández United States &  United States
1997Lindsay Davenport (2) & Jana Novotná United States &  Czech Republic
1998Lindsay Davenport (3) & Natasha Zvereva United States &  Belarus
1999Martina Hingis & Anna Kournikova  Switzerland &  Russia
2000Julie Halard-Decugis & Ai Sugiyama France &  Japan
2001Lisa Raymond & Rennae Stubbs United States &  Australia
2002Virginia Ruano Pascual & Paola Suárez Spain &  Argentina
2003Virginia Ruano Pascual (2) & Paola Suárez (2) Spain &  Argentina
2004Virginia Ruano Pascual (3) & Paola Suárez (3) Spain &  Argentina
2005Lisa Raymond (2) & Samantha Stosur United States &  Australia
2006Lisa Raymond (3) & Samantha Stosur (2) United States &  Australia
2007Cara Black & Liezel Huber Zimbabwe &  United States
2008Cara Black (2) & Liezel Huber (2) Zimbabwe &  United States
2009Serena Williams & Venus Williams United States &  United States
2010Gisela Dulko & Flavia Pennetta Argentina &  Italy
2011Květa Peschke & Katarina Srebotnik Czech Republic &  Slovenia
2012Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci Italy &  Italy
2013Sara Errani (2) & Roberta Vinci (2) Italy &  Italy
2014Sara Errani (3) & Roberta Vinci (3) Italy &  Italy
2015Martina Hingis (2) & Sania Mirza  Switzerland &  India
2016Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic France &  France
2017Martina Hingis (3) & Chan Yung-jan  Switzerland &  Chinese Taipei
2018Barbora Krejčíková & Kateřina Siniaková Czech Republic &  Czech Republic
2019Tímea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic (2) Hungary &  France

Boys

Boys' singles (1978–2003)

YearPlayerNationality
1978Ivan Lendl Czechoslovakia
1979Raúl Viver Ecuador
1980Thierry Tulasne France
1981Pat Cash Australia
1982Guy Forget France
1983Stefan Edberg Sweden
1984Mark Kratzmann Australia
1985Claudio Pistolesi Italy
1986Javier Sánchez Spain
1987Jason Stoltenberg Australia
1988Nicolás Pereira Venezuela
1989Nicklas Kulti Sweden
1990Andrea Gaudenzi Italy
1991Thomas Enqvist Sweden
1992Brian Dunn United States
1993Marcelo Ríos Chile
1994Federico Browne Argentina
1995Mariano Zabaleta Argentina
1996Sébastien Grosjean France
1997Arnaud Di Pasquale France
1998Roger Federer  Switzerland
1999Kristian Pless Denmark
2000Andy Roddick United States
2001Gilles Müller Luxembourg
2002Richard Gasquet France
2003Marcos Baghdatis Cyprus

Boys' doubles (1982–2003)

YearPlayerNationality
1982Fernando Pérez Pascal Mexico
1983Mark Kratzmann Australia
1984Agustín Moreno Mexico
1985Petr Korda & Cyril Suk Czechoslovakia &  Czechoslovakia
1986Tomás Carbonell Spain
1987Jason Stoltenberg Australia
1988David Rikl & Tomáš Anzari Czechoslovakia &  Czechoslovakia
1989Wayne Ferreira South Africa
1990Mårten Renström Sweden
1991Karim Alami Morocco
1992Enrique Abaroa Mexico
1993Steven Downs New Zealand
1994Benjamin Ellwood Australia
1995Kepler Orellana Venezuela
1996Sébastien Grosjean France
1997Nicolás Massú Chile
1998José de Armas Venezuela
1999Julien Benneteau & Nicolas Mahut France &  France
2000Lee Childs & James Nelson United Kingdom &  United Kingdom
2001Bruno Echagaray & Santiago González Mexico &  Mexico
2002Florin Mergea & Horia Tecău Romania &  Romania
2003Scott Oudsema United States

Boys' combined (from 2004)

YearPlayerNationality
2004Gaël Monfils France
2005Donald Young United States
2006Thiemo de Bakker Netherlands
2007Ričardas Berankis Lithuania
2008Yang Tsung-hua Chinese Taipei
2009Daniel Berta Sweden
2010Juan Sebastián Gómez Colombia
2011Jiří Veselý Czech Republic
2012Filip Peliwo Canada
2013Alexander Zverev Germany
2014Andrey Rublev Russia
2015Taylor Fritz United States
2016Miomir Kecmanović Serbia
2017Axel Geller Argentina
2018Tseng Chun-hsin Chinese Taipei
2019Thiago Agustin Tirante Argentina

Girls

Girls' singles (1978–2003)

YearPlayerNationality
1978Hana Mandlíková Czechoslovakia
1979Mary-Lou Piatek United States
1980Susan Mascarin United States
1981Zina Garrison United States
1982Gretchen Rush United States
1983Pascale Paradis France
1984Gabriela Sabatini Argentina
1985Laura Garrone Italy
1986Patricia Tarabini Argentina
1987Natasha Zvereva Soviet Union
1988Cristina Tessi Argentina
1989Florencia Labat Argentina
1990Karina Habšudová Czechoslovakia
1991Zdeňka Málková Czechoslovakia
1992Rossana de los Ríos Paraguay
1993Nino Louarsabishvili Georgia
1994Martina Hingis  Switzerland
1995Anna Kournikova Russia
1996Amélie Mauresmo France
1997Cara Black Zimbabwe
1998Jelena Dokić Australia
1999Lina Krasnoroutskaya Russia
2000María Emilia Salerni Argentina
2001Svetlana Kuznetsova Russia
2002Barbora Strýcová Czech Republic
2003Kirsten Flipkens Belgium

Girls' doubles (1982–2003)

YearPlayerNationality
1982Beth Herr United States
1983Larisa Savchenko Soviet Union
1984Mercedes Paz Argentina
1985Mariana Perez-Roldan & Patricia Tarabini Argentina &  Argentina
1986Leila Meskhi Soviet Union
1987Natalia Medvedeva Soviet Union
1988Jo-Anne Faull Australia
1989Andrea Strnadová Czechoslovakia
1990Karina Habšudová Czechoslovakia
1991Eva Martincová Czechoslovakia
1992Nancy Feber & Laurence Courtois Belgium &  Belgium
1993Cristina Moros United States
1994Martina Nedelkova Slovakia
1995Ludmila Varmuzova Czech Republic
1996Jitka Schönfeldová & Michaela Paštiková Czech Republic &  Czech Republic
1997Irina Selyutina & Cara Black Kazakhstan &  Zimbabwe
1998Eva Dyrberg Denmark
1999Daniela Bedáňová Czech Republic
2000María Emilia Salerni Argentina
2001Petra Cetkovská Czech Republic
2002Elke Clijsters Belgium
2003Andrea Hlaváčková Czech Republic

Girls' combined (from 2004)

YearPlayerNationality
2004Michaëlla Krajicek Netherlands
2005Victoria Azarenka Belarus
2006Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Russia
2007Urszula Radwańska Poland
2008Noppawan Lertcheewakarn Thailand
2009Kristina Mladenovic France
2010Daria Gavrilova Russia
2011Irina Khromacheva Russia
2012Taylor Townsend United States
2013Belinda Bencic  Switzerland
2014Catherine "CiCi" Bellis United States
2015Dalma Gálfi Hungary
2016Anastasia Potapova Russia
2017Whitney Osuigwe United States
2018Clara Burel France
2019Diane Parry France

Men's wheelchair

YearPlayerNationality
1991Randy Snow United States
1992Laurent Giammartini France
1993Kai Schrameyer Germany
1994Laurent Giammartini (2) France
1995David Hall Australia
1996Ricky Molier Netherlands
1997Ricky Molier (2) Netherlands
1998David Hall (2) Australia
1999Stephen Welch United States
2000David Hall (3) Australia
2001Ricky Molier (3) Netherlands
2002David Hall (4) Australia
2003David Hall (5) Australia
2004David Hall (6) Australia
2005Michaël Jeremiasz France
2006Robin Ammerlaan Netherlands
2007Shingo Kunieda Japan
2008Shingo Kunieda (2) Japan
2009Shingo Kunieda (3) Japan
2010Shingo Kunieda (4) Japan
2011Maikel Scheffers Netherlands
2012Stéphane Houdet France
2013Shingo Kunieda (5) Japan
2014Shingo Kunieda (6) Japan
2015Shingo Kunieda (7) Japan
2016Gordon Reid Great Britain
2017Gustavo Fernández Argentina
2018Shingo Kunieda (8) Japan
2019Gustavo Fernández (2) Argentina

Women's wheelchair

YearPlayerNationality
1991Chantal Vandierendonck Netherlands
1992Monique Van Den Bosch Netherlands
1993Monique Kalkman (2) Netherlands
1994Monique Kalkman (3) Netherlands
1995Monique Kalkman (4) Netherlands
1996Chantal Vandierendonck (2) Netherlands
1997Chantal Vandierendonck (3) Netherlands
1998Daniela Di Toro Australia
1999Daniela Di Toro (2) Australia
2000Esther Vergeer Netherlands
2001Esther Vergeer (2) Netherlands
2002Esther Vergeer (3) Netherlands
2003Esther Vergeer (4) Netherlands
2004Esther Vergeer (5) Netherlands
2005Esther Vergeer (6) Netherlands
2006Esther Vergeer (7) Netherlands
2007Esther Vergeer (8) Netherlands
2008Esther Vergeer (9) Netherlands
2009Esther Vergeer (10) Netherlands
2010Esther Vergeer (11) Netherlands
2011Esther Vergeer (12) Netherlands
2012Esther Vergeer (13) Netherlands
2013Aniek van Koot Netherlands
2014Yui Kamiji Japan
2015Jiske Griffioen Netherlands
2016Jiske Griffioen (2) Netherlands
2017Yui Kamiji (2) Japan
2018Diede de Groot Netherlands
2019Diede de Groot (2) Netherlands

Quad's wheelchair

YearPlayerNationality
2017David Wagner United States
2018Dylan Alcott Australia
2019Dylan Alcott (2) Australia

See also

References

ITF Constitution
  • Fecci, Vicki (6 January 2010). "Memorandum, Articles of Association and Bye-laws of ITF LIMITED; Trading as the International Tennis Federation" (PDF). Nassau, Bahamas: ITF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2013.

Footnotes

  1. ITF Constitution, p.26, Rule 2.2(a)(iii)
  2. "ITF opt for Hewitt and Capriati". BBC Online. 2 December 2001. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  3. ITF Constitution, p.53 Appendix E
  4. "Rafael Nadal, Garbine Muguruza win ITF Player of the Year awards". ESPN.com. 2017-12-08. Retrieved 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. http://www.itftennis.com/276840?channel=itfwheelchairtennisnews
  9. Gillen, Nancy (1 April 2020). "Santana and Stolle receive ITF Philippe Chatrier Award". Inside the Games. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  10. "World Champions Dinner". ITF. 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  11. "Borg: Sitting on top of the World". Evening Independent. St. Petersburg, Florida. Associated Press. 17 January 1979. p. 11C. Retrieved 20 December 2013 via Google News Archive.
  12. Joe Jares (February 13, 1978). "Champion by committee". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 48 no. 8. p. 11.
  13. "Wind, Herbert Warren (15 February 1978). "The Sports Scene: Budge and the Grand Slam". The New Yorker. 63: 76.
  14. UPI (17 January 1984). "McEnroe tapped as world's best". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. p. D-1. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  15. "McEnroe crowned World Champ by tennis panel". Gainesville Sun. Google News Archive. 17 January 1985. p. 3E. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  16. Fogarty, Mark (21 January 1986). "All the awards, plus a rebuke". The Age. p. 48. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  17. "It's official: Lendl best in world". Boca Raton News. Google News Archive. 11 December 1986. p. 4D. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  18. "Lendl, not Edberg, named tennis world champion". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Google News Archive. Associated Press. 18 December 1990. p. 1C. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  19. Tennis (in French). France (179). February 1991. 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) Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. "Williams and Djokovic named 2013 ITF World Champion". ITF. 18 December 2013.
  21. Ron Rosen (January 17, 1978). "Fie to Computers, Let People Decide". Washington Post.
  22. Flink, Steve (30 September 2003). "Obituaries: Althea Gibson". The Independent. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
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