ITF World Champions

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) designates a World Champion each year based on performances throughout the year, emphasising the Grand Slam tournaments,[1] and also considering team events such as the Davis Cup and Fed Cup.[2] Men's and women's singles champions were first named in 1978; the title is now also awarded for doubles, wheelchair, and junior players.[3]

Rules and procedures

The ITF's constitution states that no tennis tournament can be designated the "World Championships" without unanimous consent of the ITF Council.[4] There is currently no such tournament. The constitution also states:[5]

The ITF may award the title of World Champion to players who, in the opinion of the Board of Directors, are the most outstanding players in any one-year. The names of players who have been awarded this title shall be listed in the Roll of Honour.

It also states:[1]

Official Tennis Championships [i.e. the Grand Slam events] shall be the decisive factor in the determination of the ITF World Champions for each year.

For singles, ITF appoints a panel of former top players at the start of the season, which votes on the champion at the end of the season.

The boys' and girls' singles and doubles titles prior to 2003 were awarded based on world ranking. Since then singles and doubles rankings have been combined in a single award each for boys and for girls.[6]

The ITF World Champions' Dinner takes place in Paris during the French Open, to honour the previous year's champions,[7] who are presented with a trophy, but not any monetary prize.[8]

Men's singles

The first men's panel in 1978 had three members, Don Budge, Fred Perry, and Lew Hoad,[8][9] who attended the season's Grand Slam events at ITF expense to inform their choice.[10] The 1983 panel split two to one between John McEnroe (votes of Budge and Perry) and Mats Wilander (vote of Hoad).[11] The 1984 panel had five members,[12] while the 1985 panel had four: Budge, Perry, Hoad, and Tony Trabert.[13] When Ivan Lendl was chosen as champion for 1985, the panel's announcement was accompanied with a rebuke for Lendl's criticism of some tournaments and his refusal to play in the Davis Cup.[13] Perry and Trabert were on the 1986 panel, with performances outside the Grand Slams taken into consideration.[14]

The 1990 designation of Lendl as champion was a surprise.[15] That year, the Association of Tennis Professionals named Stefan Edberg its "Player of The Year", in accordance with the ATP Rankings, while Tennis Magazine (France) ranked Edberg first, Andre Agassi second, and Lendl third.[16] Tennis also suggested the ITF was punishing Edberg for denigrating the Grand Slam Cup tournament it had introduced.[16] The ITF panel, of Perry, Trabert, and Frank Sedgman, called it "the toughest decision any of us can remember having to make", and stated it was Lendl's better average performance in the Grand Slams that made the difference.[15]

Other instances when the ITF choices differed from the ATP rankings are 1978 (Jimmy Connors), 1982 (McEnroe), 1989 (Lendl) and 2013 (Rafael Nadal).

Women's singles

The women's panel initially featured three former women's champions, Margaret Court, Margaret duPont and Ann Jones.[17][8][9] Althea Gibson was a member through the early 1980s.[18]

ITF world champions for women differed from the WTA year-end rankings the following years: 1978 (Martina Navratilova), 1994 (Steffi Graf), 2001 (Lindsay Davenport), 2004 (Lindsay Davenport), 2005 (Lindsay Davenport), 2011 (Caroline Wozniacki), 2012 (Victoria Azarenka).

Men's doubles

YearPlayerNationality
1996Todd Woodbridge (1) & Mark Woodforde (1) Australia &  Australia
1997Todd Woodbridge (2) & Mark Woodforde (2) Australia &  Australia
1998Jacco Eltingh (1) & Paul Haarhuis (1) Netherlands &  Netherlands
1999Mahesh Bhupathi (1) & Leander Paes (1) India &  India
2000Todd Woodbridge (3) & Mark Woodforde (3) Australia &  Australia
2001Jonas Björkman (1) & Todd Woodbridge (4) Sweden &  Australia
2002Mark Knowles (1) & Daniel Nestor (1) Bahamas &  Canada
2003Bob Bryan (1) & Mike Bryan (1) United States &  United States
2004Bob Bryan (2) & Mike Bryan (2) United States &  United States
2005Bob Bryan (3) & Mike Bryan (3) United States &  United States
2006Bob Bryan (4) & Mike Bryan (4) United States &  United States
2007Bob Bryan (5) & Mike Bryan (5) United States &  United States
2008Daniel Nestor (2) & Nenad Zimonjić (1) Canada &  Serbia
2009Bob Bryan (6) & Mike Bryan (6) United States &  United States
2010Bob Bryan (7) & Mike Bryan (7) United States &  United States
2011Bob Bryan (8) & Mike Bryan (8) United States &  United States
2012Bob Bryan (9) & Mike Bryan (9) United States &  United States
2013Bob Bryan (10) & Mike Bryan (10) United States &  United States
2014Bob Bryan (11) & Mike Bryan (11) United States &  United States
2015Jean-Julien Rojer (1) & Horia Tecău (1) Netherlands &  Romania
2016 Jamie Murray (1) & Bruno Soares (1) Great Britain &  Brazil

Women's doubles

YearPlayer Nationality
1996 Lindsay Davenport (1) & Mary Joe Fernández (1)  United States &  United States
1997 Lindsay Davenport (2) & Jana Novotná (1)  United States &  Czech Republic
1998 Lindsay Davenport (3) & Natasha Zvereva (1)  United States &  Belarus
1999 Martina Hingis (1) & Anna Kournikova (1)   Switzerland &  Russia
2000 Julie Halard-Decugis (1) & Ai Sugiyama (1)  France &  Japan
2001 Lisa Raymond (1) & Rennae Stubbs (1)  United States &  Australia
2002 Virginia Ruano Pascual (1) & Paola Suárez (1)  Spain &  Argentina
2003 Virginia Ruano Pascual (2) & Paola Suárez (2)  Spain &  Argentina
2004 Virginia Ruano Pascual (3) & Paola Suárez (3)  Spain &  Argentina
2005 Lisa Raymond (2) & Samantha Stosur (1)  United States &  Australia
2006 Lisa Raymond (3) & Samantha Stosur (2)  United States &  Australia
2007 Cara Black (1) & Liezel Huber (1)  Zimbabwe &  United States
2008 Cara Black (2) & Liezel Huber (2)  Zimbabwe &  United States
2009 Serena Williams (1) & Venus Williams (1)  United States &  United States
2010 Gisela Dulko (1) & Flavia Pennetta (1)  Argentina &  Italy
2011 Květa Peschke (1) & Katarina Srebotnik (1)  Czech Republic &  Slovenia
2012 Sara Errani (1) & Roberta Vinci (1)  Italy &  Italy
2013 Sara Errani (2) & Roberta Vinci (2)  Italy &  Italy
2014 Sara Errani (3) & Roberta Vinci (3)  Italy &  Italy
2015 Martina Hingis (2) & Sania Mirza (1)   Switzerland &  India
2016 Caroline Garcia (1) & Kristina Mladenovic (1)  France &  France

Boys

Boys' singles (1978–2003)

YearPlayer Nationality
1978 Ivan Lendl  Czechoslovakia
1979 Raúl Viver  Ecuador
1980 Thierry Tulasne  France
1981 Pat Cash  Australia
1982 Guy Forget  France
1983 Stefan Edberg  Sweden
1984 Mark Kratzmann  Australia
1985 Claudio Pistolesi  Italy
1986 Javier Sánchez  Spain
1987 Jason Stoltenberg  Australia
1988 Nicolás Pereira  Venezuela
1989 Nicklas Kulti  Sweden
1990 Andrea Gaudenzi  Italy
1991 Thomas Enqvist  Sweden
1992 Brian Dunn  United States
1993 Marcelo Ríos  Chile
1994 Federico Browne  Argentina
1995 Mariano Zabaleta  Argentina
1996 Sébastien Grosjean  France
1997 Arnaud Di Pasquale  France
1998 Roger Federer   Switzerland
1999 Kristian Pless  Denmark
2000 Andy Roddick  United States
2001 Gilles Müller  Luxembourg
2002 Richard Gasquet  France
2003 Marcos Baghdatis  Cyprus

Boys' doubles (1982–2003)

YearPlayer Nationality
1982 Fernando Pérez  Mexico
1983 Mark Kratzmann  Australia
1984 Agustín Moreno  Mexico
1985 Petr Korda & Cyril Suk  Czechoslovakia &  Czechoslovakia
1986 Tomás Carbonell  Spain
1987 Jason Stoltenberg  Australia
1988 David Rikl & Tomáš Anzari  Czechoslovakia &  Czechoslovakia
1989 Wayne Ferreira South Africa South Africa
1990 Mårten Renström  Sweden
1991 Karim Alami  Morocco
1992 Enrique Abaroa  Mexico
1993 Steven Downs  New Zealand
1994 Benjamin Ellwood  Australia
1995 Kepler Orellana  Venezuela
1996 Sébastien Grosjean  France
1997 Nicolás Massú  Chile
1998 José de Armas  Venezuela
1999 Julien Benneteau & Nicolas Mahut  France &  France
2000 Lee Childs & James Nelson  United Kingdom &  United Kingdom
2001 Bruno Echagaray & Santiago González  Mexico &  Mexico
2002 Florin Mergea & Horia Tecău  Romania &  Romania
2003 Scott Oudsema  United States

Boys' combined (from 2004)

YearPlayer Nationality
2004 Gaël Monfils  France
2005 Donald Young  United States
2006 Thiemo de Bakker  Netherlands
2007 Ričardas Berankis  Lithuania
2008 Yang Tsung-hua  Chinese Taipei
2009 Daniel Berta  Sweden
2010 Juan Sebastián Gómez  Colombia
2011 Jiří Veselý  Czech Republic
2012 Filip Peliwo  Canada
2013 Alexander Zverev  Germany
2014 Andrey Rublev  Russia
2015 Taylor Fritz  United States
2016 Miomir Kecmanović  Serbia

Girls

Girls' singles (1978–2003)

YearPlayer Nationality
1978 Hana Mandlíková  Czechoslovakia
1979 Mary-Lou Piatek  United States
1980 Susan Mascarin  United States
1981 Zina Garrison  United States
1982 Gretchen Rush  United States
1983 Pascale Paradis  France
1984 Gabriela Sabatini  Argentina
1985 Laura Garrone  Italy
1986 Patricia Tarabini  Argentina
1987 Natasha Zvereva  Soviet Union
1988 Cristina Tessi  Argentina
1989 Florencia Labat  Argentina
1990 Karina Habšudová  Czechoslovakia
1991 Zdeňka Málková  Czechoslovakia
1992 Rossana de los Ríos  Paraguay
1993 Nino Louarsabishvili  Georgia
1994 Martina Hingis   Switzerland
1995 Anna Kournikova  Russia
1996 Amélie Mauresmo  France
1997 Cara Black  Zimbabwe
1998 Jelena Dokić  Australia
1999 Lina Krasnoroutskaya  Russia
2000 María Emilia Salerni  Argentina
2001 Svetlana Kuznetsova  Russia
2002 Barbora Strýcová  Czech Republic
2003 Kirsten Flipkens  Belgium

Girls' doubles (1982–2003)

YearPlayer Nationality
1982 Beth Herr  United States
1983 Larisa Savchenko  Soviet Union
1984 Mercedes Paz  Argentina
1985 Mariana Perez-Roldan & Patricia Tarabini  Argentina &  Argentina
1986 Leila Meskhi  Soviet Union
1987 Natalia Medvedeva  Soviet Union
1988 Jo-Anne Faull  Australia
1989 Andrea Strnadová  Czechoslovakia
1990 Karina Habšudová  Czechoslovakia
1991 Eva Martincová  Czechoslovakia
1992 Nancy Feber & Laurence Courtois  Belgium &  Belgium
1993 Cristina Moros  United States
1994 Martina Nedelkova  Slovakia
1995 Ludmila Varmuzova  Czech Republic
1996 Jitka Schönfeldová & Michaela Paštiková  Czech Republic &  Czech Republic
1997 Irina Selyutina & Cara Black  Kazakhstan &  Zimbabwe
1998 Eva Dyrberg  Denmark
1999 Daniela Bedáňová  Czech Republic
2000 María Emilia Salerni  Argentina
2001 Petra Cetkovská  Czech Republic
2002 Elke Clijsters  Belgium
2003 Andrea Hlaváčková  Czech Republic

Girls' combined (from 2004)

YearPlayer Nationality
2004 Michaëlla Krajicek  Netherlands
2005 Victoria Azarenka  Belarus
2006 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova  Russia
2007 Urszula Radwańska  Poland
2008 Noppawan Lertcheewakarn  Thailand
2009 Kristina Mladenovic  France
2010 Daria Gavrilova  Russia
2011 Irina Khromacheva  Russia
2012 Taylor Townsend  United States
2013 Belinda Bencic   Switzerland
2014 Catherine "CiCi" Bellis  United States
2015 Dalma Galfi  Hungary
2016 Anastasia Potapova  Russia

Men's wheelchair

YearPlayer Nationality
1991 Randy Snow  United States
1992 Laurent Giammartini  France
1993 Kai Schrameyer  Germany
1994 Laurent Giammartini (2)  France
1995 David Hall  Australia
1996 Ricky Molier  Netherlands
1997 Ricky Molier (2)  Netherlands
1998 David Hall (2)  Australia
1999 Stephen Welch  United States
2000 David Hall (3)  Australia
2001 Ricky Molier (3)  Netherlands
2002 David Hall (4)  Australia
2003 David Hall (5)  Australia
2004 David Hall (6)  Australia
2005 Michaël Jeremiasz  France
2006 Robin Ammerlaan  Netherlands
2007 Shingo Kunieda  Japan
2008 Shingo Kunieda (2)  Japan
2009 Shingo Kunieda (3)  Japan
2010 Shingo Kunieda (4)  Japan
2011 Maikel Scheffers  Netherlands
2012 Stéphane Houdet  France
2013 Shingo Kunieda (5)  Japan
2014 Shingo Kunieda (6)  Japan
2015 Shingo Kunieda (7)  Japan
2016 Gordon Reid  Great Britain

Women's wheelchair

YearPlayer Nationality
1991 Chantal Vandierendonck  Netherlands
1992 Monique Van Den Bosch  Netherlands
1993 Monique Kalkman (2)  Netherlands
1994 Monique Kalkman (3)  Netherlands
1995 Monique Kalkman (4)  Netherlands
1996 Chantal Vandierendonck (2)  Netherlands
1997 Chantal Vandierendonck (3)  Netherlands
1998 Daniela Di Toro  Australia
1999 Daniela Di Toro (2)  Australia
2000 Esther Vergeer  Netherlands
2001 Esther Vergeer (2)  Netherlands
2002 Esther Vergeer (3)  Netherlands
2003 Esther Vergeer (4)  Netherlands
2004 Esther Vergeer (5)  Netherlands
2005 Esther Vergeer (6)  Netherlands
2006 Esther Vergeer (7)  Netherlands
2007 Esther Vergeer (8)  Netherlands
2008 Esther Vergeer (9)  Netherlands
2009 Esther Vergeer (10)  Netherlands
2010 Esther Vergeer (11)  Netherlands
2011 Esther Vergeer (12)  Netherlands
2012 Esther Vergeer (13)  Netherlands
2013 Aniek van Koot  Netherlands
2014 Yui Kamiji  Japan
2015 Jiske Griffioen  Netherlands
2016 Jiske Griffioen (2)  Netherlands

See also

References

ITF Constitution

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 ITF Constitution, p.26, Rule 2.2(a)(iii)
  2. "ITF opt for Hewitt and Capriati". BBC Online. 2 December 2001. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  3. ITF Constitution, p.53 Appendix E
  4. ITF Constitution, p.29: Article 29(a)
  5. ITF Constitution, p.38 Regulation 3.1
  6. ITF Constitution, Appendix E, pp.53, 60
  7. "World Champions Dinner". ITF. 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 "Borg: Sitting on top of the World". Evening Independent. St. Petersburg, Florida. Associated Press. 17 January 1979. p. 11C. Retrieved 20 December 2013 via Google News Archive.
  9. 1 2 Joe Jares (February 13, 1978). "Champion by committee". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 48 no. 8. p. 11.
  10. "Wind, Herbert Warren (15 February 1978). "The Sports Scene: Budge and the Grand Slam". The New Yorker. 63: 76.
  11. UPI (17 January 1984). "McEnroe tapped as world's best". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. p. D-1. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  12. "McEnroe crowned World Champ by tennis panel". Gainesville Sun. Google News Archive. 17 January 1985. p. 3E. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  13. 1 2 Fogarty, Mark (21 January 1986). "All the awards, plus a rebuke". The Age. p. 48. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  14. "It's official: Lendl best in world". Boca Raton News. Google News Archive. 11 December 1986. p. 4D. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  15. 1 2 "Lendl, not Edberg, named tennis world champion". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Google News Archive. Associated Press. 18 December 1990. p. 1C. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  16. 1 2 Tennis (in French). France (179). February 1991. On' a choisi de sanctionner un champion qui n'avait pas craint d'avouer publiquement le peu d'importance qu'il accordait à la Coupe du Grand Chelem, la fameuse invention de la FIT pour 'casser' l'ATP Tour. (It was decided to punish a champion who was not afraid to admit publicly how little he though of the Grand Slam Cup, the famous ITF invention to 'break' the ATP Tour) Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. Ron Rosen (January 17, 1978). "Fie to Computers, Let People Decide". Washington Post.
  18. Flink, Steve (30 September 2003). "Obituaries: Althea Gibson". The Independent. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
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