Image courtesy of Getty Images and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
World No. 1 Justine Henin was honored by the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on Thursday as the 2007 Player of the Year.
Last season Henin won her fourth (and third consecutive) French Open title, the US Open, and the season-ending Championships, before ending the year on a twenty-five match win streak.
“Winning Player of the Year is a great honor for me,” Henin said. “This award is really special because last year was one of my most exciting years. I felt great about my game and really enjoyed playing.”
In total, Henin won ten titles in 2007 and became the first female player in history to earn over $5,000,000 dollars in prize money during a single season.
Cara Black and Liezel Huber took home the 2007 Doubles Team of the Year award. Black and Huber won nine titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, Tour Championships, Paris (Indoors), Antwerp, Dubai, San Diego Moscow and Linz.
“We are very excited to be nominated for Doubles Team of the Year,” Black said. “We had an excellent year and we are really pleased and honored to be receiving this award.”
“Cara and I are very honored about receiving this award,” Huber added. “We had a fantastic year and so much fun last year, so this is just icing on the cake for us.”
The Most Improved Player of the Year distinction went to Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic. Ivanovic started the season ranked at No. 14, only to end the year at No. 4. She reached her first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros and added three titles to her career total. Ivanovic also received the Karen Krantczke Sportsmanship award.
Beating out Venus and Serena Williams, American Lindsay Davenport was awarded the Comeback Player of the Year award. Only four months after giving birth to her son Jagger, Davenport returned to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour by taking the title at her first comeback tournament in Bali, Indonesia. Davenport also reached the semifinals in Beijing before winning her fifty-third career title in November at Quebec City.
Agnes Szavay was honored as the 2007 Newcomer of the Year winner.
Szavay, a native of Hungary, improved her ranking by 169 spots to end the season inside the Top 20. Szavay won two Tour singles titles at Beijing and Palermo, and scored three wins over Top 10 players (Daniela Hantuchova, Nadia Petrova, and Jelena Jankovic).
Doubles star Liezel Huber was also another double winner on award’s night. Huber was named the winner of the Tour’s Player Service Award, which recognizes off-court contributions and charitable endeavors. This award is voted on by Tour players.
“These awards honor excellence both on and off the court, and this year’s awards winners stood out as stars of the 2007 season,” said Larry Scott, CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
“Last season was another remarkable and historical year for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, and I congratulate these players for their efforts and contributions in making women’s tennis even more exciting.”
The annual player awards are voted on by the global tennis media. Each award winner received a Waterford Crystal amethyst trophy.
[...] Davenport has added three titles to her career total and was recently named the Tour’s Comeback Player of the Year for [...]