In addition to being crowned the 2023 ITF World Champions, Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic accomplished a unique achievement this year.
The International Tennis Federation recognized Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka as the 2023 ITF World Champions on Thursday. This year’s four Grand Slam events saw only the two players make it to the semi-finals or higher in the singles competition.
This is a record-tying eighth ITF World Champion title for Djokovic. After winning the Australian Open, French Open, and US Open, he concluded the year as the ATP No. 1 player for an unprecedented eighth time. This brought his majors total to a men’s leading 24. In addition, he finished second at Wimbledon and won seven titles to lead the men’s tour.
In an interview with ITF, the Serbian stated,”It’s the crown of the season, finishing the year as No. 1 in the world,” said Djokovic. “I think it’s a dream of every tennis player. It’s one of the most difficult things to do in our sport. Winning Grand Slams and being No. 1 in the world are probably the pinnacles of the sport.”
abalenka has never before been granted this honor. This year, she won the Australian Open, her maiden Grand Slam victory. She reached the French Open and Wimbledon semifinals in addition to finishing second at the US Open. In September of this year, she also debuted at the top of the WTA rankings, finishing second overall, behind Iga Swiatek.
“2023 has been an incredible season for me and I’m very happy to be named ITF World Champion. From winning my first Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open to reaching world No. 1 for the first time, it has been an amazing year. I’m very grateful to my family, my team and my fans for their support in 2023 and I can’t wait to get back out on court for the new season in January,” stated Sabalenka.