By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, December 15, 2023
The 2023 season is in the rear-view mirror, but Novak Djokovic continues his championship roll.
World No. 1 Djokovic earned men's ITF World Champion honors for a record-extending eighth time.
Nadal: Ready to Face Fears and Doubts
Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka was named women's ITF World Champion for the first time.
It was a year that saw Djokovic capture three of the four Grand Slam championships—Australian Open, Roland Garros and US Open—collect his record seventh ATP Finals crown, win an ATP-best seven tournament titles and eclipse 400 weeks as world No. 1.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic nearly pulled off the first men's calendar Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969 bowing to Carlos Alcaraz in a dramatic Wimbledon five-set final.
It was a monumental season for Sabalenka, who out-dueled Elena Rybakina in a tremendous three-set battle to win her maiden major at the Australian Open. Sabalenka went on to rise to world No. 1 for the first time.
The big-hitting Belarusian reached the US Open final and held a one-set lead over Coco Gauff before the American teenager, exhorted by 23,000 loud fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium, rallied to win her first Grand Slam.
Photo credit: Aryna Sabalenka Instagram