Spanish tennis players Rafael Nadal and Garbine Muguruza have been named 2017 International Tennis Federation (ITF) singles champion. It is the first time since 1998 (Pete Sampras and Lindsay Davenport) that two singles players from the same country get the award.
According to Tennisworldusa.org, both on male and female sides it was very balanced, as Nadal and Roger Federer split the two Grand Slam titles and the Swiss beat his rival four times on four matches played, but the 31-year-old clinched the year-end No. 1, which was decisive.
As for Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), there were four Grand Slam champions in 2017: Serena Williams, Jelena Ostapenko, Muguruza and Sloane Stephens, and five No. 1s: Serena, Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova, Muguruza and Simona Halep.
“I am very happy to receive this award from the ITF and be the 2017 ITF World Champion. It is four years since I last finished No. 1 on the Association of Tennis Profession (ATP) rankings and this has a special feeling. Congrats also to Garbine on her achievement which is great for our country,” Nadal said in a statement.
“Becoming ITF World Champion in such a competitive year is amazing for me. And (it) is even more special because Rafa has also been awarded on the men’s side. He is a great role model for all of us, so it is a great moment for tennis in Spain,” Muguruza said.
“I knew that putting in the hard work would pay off eventually and it made winning Wimbledon and achieving the No. 1 ranking so special. I’m motivated to take everything I’ve learned this year and apply it to my work next season,” she added.
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