Nadal, Swiatek Named ITF World Champions for 2022

Tennis - Rafael Nadal Press Conference - Rafa Nadal Academy, Mallorca, Spain - February 2, 2022 Spain's Rafael Nadal during the press conference REUTERS/Enrique Calvo
Tennis - Rafael Nadal Press Conference - Rafa Nadal Academy, Mallorca, Spain - February 2, 2022 Spain's Rafael Nadal during the press conference REUTERS/Enrique Calvo
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Nadal, Swiatek Named ITF World Champions for 2022

Tennis - Rafael Nadal Press Conference - Rafa Nadal Academy, Mallorca, Spain - February 2, 2022 Spain's Rafael Nadal during the press conference REUTERS/Enrique Calvo
Tennis - Rafael Nadal Press Conference - Rafa Nadal Academy, Mallorca, Spain - February 2, 2022 Spain's Rafael Nadal during the press conference REUTERS/Enrique Calvo

Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek were Thursday named world champions by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) after a season in which they claimed two Grand Slam titles apiece.

Nadal swept to the Australian Open and then backed it up with a 14th French Open, taking his majors total to a men's record of 22.

Swiatek, who inherited the world number one spot in March following the shock retirement of Ashleigh Barty, claimed a second French Open and then captured the US Open.

"I'm very happy to be named ITF World Champion for the fifth time," said 36-year-old Nadal.

"When I first won the award in 2008, I would not have expected to still be playing at such a high level 14 years later."

Nadal also made the semi-finals at Wimbledon but was forced to quit before facing Nick Kyrgios due to an abdominal strain.

Rajeev Ram of the United States and Great Britain's Joe Salisbury are first-time winners of the men's doubles world champion award after claiming their third Grand Slam title together at the US Open and then taking the ATP Finals title for the first time in November.

Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova won the women's doubles prize for the third time. The Czech pair won three Grand Slam titles, triumphing at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open.



PSG’s Enrique Shifts Focus to Liverpool Test after Dominant Win over Lille

Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain v Lille - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - March 1, 2025 Paris St Germain coach Luis Enrique. (Reuters)
Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain v Lille - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - March 1, 2025 Paris St Germain coach Luis Enrique. (Reuters)
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PSG’s Enrique Shifts Focus to Liverpool Test after Dominant Win over Lille

Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain v Lille - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - March 1, 2025 Paris St Germain coach Luis Enrique. (Reuters)
Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain v Lille - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - March 1, 2025 Paris St Germain coach Luis Enrique. (Reuters)

Saturday's 4-1 win over Lille was a test for Paris St Germain ahead of the Champions League round of 16 clash with Liverpool, PSG coach Luis Enrique said.

PSG scored four goals in the first half to win their 10th match in a row in all competitions. The French champions are unbeaten since a loss at Bayern Munich in November.

"It's the best first half of the season," Enrique told reporters.

"Now we have to think about the... two games against Liverpool, think about recovering and be ambitious.

"They're the most in-form team in Europe, both in terms of results and the way they play. It could have been a Champions League final, so we're going to try and play to our strengths."

Premier League leaders Liverpool topped the table in the league phase of the Champions League, while PSG finished 15th and beat Brest in the playoffs to reach the round of 16.

PSG and Liverpool met twice in 2018 in the Champions League's group stage, with both teams winning at home.

"We're not going to change much. Today was a test, Liverpool and Lille have similar things. We put them under such pressure that they could no longer play from the back, they had to play long," Enrique said.

"It will be different, it will be very complicated of course, but we are in the best period of the season. We're going to play against the best team in Europe, who qualified brilliantly.

"But it's not in our mentality to speculate, protect ourselves, stay defensive, we're going to attack and we're going to try to turn that in our favor."

PSG host Liverpool in the first leg of the tie on Wednesday, with the second leg set for March 11 at Liverpool.