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2021 WTA Awards Nominees have been announced

By Danny Bennett

Jul 10, 2021; London, United Kingdom; Ashleigh Barty (AUS) holds the Venus Rosewater Dish after beating Karolina Pliskova (CZE) in the womenÕs final at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Mandatory Credit: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 10, 2021; London, United Kingdom; Ashleigh Barty (AUS) holds the Venus Rosewater Dish after beating Karolina Pliskova (CZE) in the womenÕs final at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Mandatory Credit: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports /
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Another fantastic tennis season is in the books, and the only way to put a bow on it is to celebrate with the WTA Awards.

The WTA has announced the nominees for their annual WTA Awards for the 2021 season, presented in December from St. Petersburg, Florida. Here is the complete list of the nominees:

WTA PLAYER OF THE YEAR

  • Ashleigh Barty
  • Barbora Krejcikova
  • Naomi Osaka
  • Garbine Muguruza
  • Aryna Sabalenka
  • Iga Swiatek

WTA NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

  • Emma Raducanu
  • Mayar Sherif
  • Ann Li
  • Clara Tauson
  • Maria Camila Osorio Serrano
  • Liudmila Samsonova

WTA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR

  • Leylah Fernandez
  • Maria Sakkari
  • Barbora Krejcikova
  • Ons Jabeur
  • Anett Kontaveit
  • Paula Badosa
  • Jessica Pegula

WTA COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR

  • Carla Suarez Navarro
  • Elena Vesnina
  • Ana Konjuh

WTA DOUBLES TEAM OF THE YEAR

  • Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova
  • Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara
  • Nicole Melichar-Martinez/Demi Schuurs
  • Hsieh Su-Wei/Elise Mertens
  • Alexa Guarachi/Desirae Krawczyk
  • Samantha Stosur/Zhang Shuai

The winner(s) in some of the categories may look like an easily predictable outcome – for example, the Doubles Team of the Year going to Krejcikova and Sinikova, and Emma Raducanu winning Newcomer of the Year – however, the Player of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year and the Comeback Player of the Year fields are loaded. Any one of those three categories could go a few different directions, especially the Most Improved Player.

Carla Suarez Navarro appears to be the favorite for Comeback Player of the Year, and rightfully so, she beat her battle with Hodgkin Lymphoma and was cleared to return to the court in April. Although, it’s hard to count out both former No. 13 Elena Vesnina coming back from a 28-month maternity leave and Ana Konjuh, the former No. 20 player, after undergoing three elbow surgeries over the last three years (the first of her four came back in 2014) to make her return to tennis. All three are great stories of success.

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