Australia's Barty wins 2021 women's tennis player award

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Australian tennis player and top seed in women's singles Ashleigh Barty won the WTA Player of the Year award for 2021 on Tuesday.

"WTA World No.1 Ashleigh Barty wins the WTA Player of the Year honor for the second time; she also earned the accolade in 2019 after capturing a tour-leading five WTA titles in 2021," the Women's Tennis Association said in a statement.

Barty, 25, won the 2021 Wimbledon, her second Grand Slam title, in July.

The Australian athlete previously claimed the 2019 French Open (Roland Garros) trophy in Paris.

Meanwhile, Czech player Barbora Krejcikova, 25, was named the WTA Most Improved Player of the Year.

Krejcikova secured the 2021 French Open, her first major singles championship.

She was in the 65th position in the globe but reached the fifth spot by the end of this year.

In addition, Emma Raducanu of Britain won the WTA Newcomer of the Year award.

Raducanu, 19, won the 2021 US Open women's singles title, her first Grand Slam championship.

Following her stunning win in US, Raducanu ranked 19th in the world.

By the end of 2020, Raducanu was in the 343rd spot among all women's players.

Carla Suarez Navarro from Spain was honored with the WTA Comeback Player of the Year award.

In 2020, Suarez Navarro, 33, was diagnosed with lymphoma but beat the disease to return to the courts the following year.

The Spanish player, who played in all four Grand Slam tournaments, retired in 2021.