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Sinner and Swiatek Win ITF World Champion Awards 

Iga Swiatek of Poland waves after defeating Eva Lys of Germany in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP)
Iga Swiatek of Poland waves after defeating Eva Lys of Germany in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP)
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Sinner and Swiatek Win ITF World Champion Awards 

Iga Swiatek of Poland waves after defeating Eva Lys of Germany in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP)
Iga Swiatek of Poland waves after defeating Eva Lys of Germany in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP)

Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek have won the International Tennis Federation’s 2024 world champion awards.

Swiatek edged out Aryna Sabalenka for the women’s singles award in the list announced by the ITF on Monday.

Swiatek won the French Open plus four WTA 1000 titles, an Olympic bronze medal at the Paris Games and also helped Poland to the Billie Jean King Cup semifinals. Sabalenka won the Australian and US Open crowns and finished the year ranked No. 1.

Sinner is the first Italian to win the award. He finished 2024 at No. 1 with a 73-6 win-loss record after winning the Australian and US Open titles, the ATP Finals and leading Italy’s successful defense of the Davis Cup crown.

Sinner and Swiatek were both subject to doping cases last year, which has overshadowed their participation at the Australian Open this month.

The ITF said the world champion awards were selected based on “objective criteria” considering all results but with a special emphasis on Grand Slams, the World Cup of Tennis competitions and the Olympic and Paralympic events.

“Last year was a memorable year for our sport with the staging of the Olympic and Paralympic Games alongside our traditional team events,” ITF President David Haggerty said. “And we see with several of our award winners that representing their country inspired them to even greater achievements in 2024.”

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Svitolina Rallies to Reach Australian Open Quarterfinals for 3rd Time

Ukraine's Elina Svitolina celebrates her first set against Russia's Veronika Kudermetova during their women's singles match on day nine of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 20, 2025. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)
Ukraine's Elina Svitolina celebrates her first set against Russia's Veronika Kudermetova during their women's singles match on day nine of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 20, 2025. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)
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Svitolina Rallies to Reach Australian Open Quarterfinals for 3rd Time

Ukraine's Elina Svitolina celebrates her first set against Russia's Veronika Kudermetova during their women's singles match on day nine of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 20, 2025. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)
Ukraine's Elina Svitolina celebrates her first set against Russia's Veronika Kudermetova during their women's singles match on day nine of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 20, 2025. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)

Elina Svitolina was 4-1 down before she went on a roll and took 11 of the next 12 games in a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Veronika Kudermetova on Monday to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals for the third time.
The 30-year-old Ukrainian is into the last eight at a Grand Slam for the 12th time and will next play No. 19 Madison Keys, who had a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 win over Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion and 2023 Australian Open runner-up, The Associated Press reported.
Keys has twice reached the semifinals in Australia, in 2015 and 2022, and entered the season's first major with a title in Adelaide earlier this month.
Svitolina is back in the quarterfinals in Australia for the first time since 2019.
“Feels like a lifetime ago,” Svitolina said. Since then, she has married French player Gael Monfils in 2021 and the pair had a daughter, Skai, in 2022. “Many things happened and I’m really pleased with the performance throughout the tournament. Really enjoying this win today.”
After dropping two early service games to Kudermetova, she said her only goal “was just trying to fight.”
“It’s the only thing I can do when things are not going your way, put your head down and get back to work,” she said. “Really happy I could come (back) into the match and then win in straight sets.”
In a message written on a TV camera lens after the match, the No. 28-seeded Svitolina wrote “The Spirit of Ukraine” and drew a heart shape.
Svitolina, the No. 28 seed, wore a red dress, red shoes and a red cap for the match. People in the crowd waved the yellow and blue Ukraine flag.
Kudermetova took a medical timeout for on-court treatment on her abdomen after falling behind 5-4 the first set.
She left the court for treatment after losing the first set. Kudermetova saved a breakpoint and held for 1-1 in the second set, following up a forehand winner down the line with a loud roar.
That was the end of her celebrating.
It wasn’t just power and pace from Svitolina that was the difference between the pair. After bringing Kudermetova to the net with a drop shot and then lobbing over her to start the next game, Svitolina punched the air.
There was no handshake at the net with Kudermeotva, a 27-year-old from Russia, but no animosity, either.
Svitolina’s husband, Monfils, was playing later Monday against No. 21 seed Ben Shelton on Margaret Court Arena. The 38-year-old Frenchman reached the fourth round with an upset over fourth-seeded Taylor Fritz, the US Open runner-up last year.
Other quarterfinalists will be decided when defending champion Jannik Sinner and No. 13 seed Holger Rune meet in an afternoon match and five-time major winner Iga Swiatek takes on Eva Lys, the lucky loser from qualifying, in a night match.