Jannik Sinner's coaching pair of Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi won the ATP Coach of the Year award. However, Novak Djokovic made a brutal take on Sinner's team winning the award for 2023. "Congratulations to Darren and Simone for a great season with Jannik. Goran, I guess we need to win 4/4 slams for you to maybe (just maybe) be considered coach of the year, Winning year-end #1,3 GS, and WTF and making history of this sport is not enough, my dear coach," he said.
Djokovic was honored as the International Tennis Federation’s 2023 ITF World Champion as he reached at least the semifinals at all four Grand Slam tournaments this season. Djokovic, who finished at No. 1 in the ATP rankings for a record-extending eighth time, won the Australian Open, French Open and U.S. Open to raise his major trophy total to a men’s-leading 24 and was the runner-up at Wimbledon. He went 56-7 and led the men’s tour with seven titles.
This is his eighth ITF World Champion award, also a record. Sabalenka received the honor for the first time after winning the Australian Open for her first Grand Slam title, finishing as the runner-up at the U.S. Open and making it to the semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon. Sabalenka made her debut at No. 1 in the WTA rankings in September, before finishing the year at No. 2 behind Iga Swiatek, the WTA Player of the Year.
Other ITF World Champions included Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens in women’s doubles, Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in men’s doubles, Diede de Groot in the women’s wheelchair category, Alfie Hewett in the men’s wheelchair category, Niels Vink in the quad wheelchair category, and Alina Korneeva and Joao Fonseca in the juniors categories. ITF World Champion selections place extra emphasis on Grand Slam events and ITF international team competitions.
(With AP inputs)
