ATP world No. 1 Novak Djokovic beat out his female counterpart Iga Swiatek as the winner of the Polish Press Agency’s European Sportsperson of the Year award.
In the last 13 tournaments, Djokovic has taken home the coveted trophy for the fifth time. After a stellar year in 2011, he did it for the first time before repeating the feat in 2015, 2018, and 2021.
Many notable athletes from a variety of sports have earned the prize, which was chosen by 27 different worldwide news agencies. Lewandowski and Hamilton from football, Lewis Hamilton from Formula 1 and Sebastian Vettel from Formula 1 are among them.
After surpassing all records in 2022, Swiatek was named the European Sportsperson of the Year. All the same, it was another year in the Serb’s history. At the beginning of the season, the Serb tied Rafael Nadal for the most Grand Slam singles titles won by a male player in history. He then added two more victories to take the lead in the Open era.
In addition, the 36-year-old won two Masters 1000 titles and the seventh ATP Finals to complete the year, ranking No. 1 for an unprecedented eighth time.
Novak Djokovic has been elected European Sportsperson of the Year for the 5th time out of the last 13 editions, award presented by the Polish Press Agency
He succeeds Iga Swiatek in the winners' list pic.twitter.com/XEK49VTusN
— Mario Boccardi (@marioboc17) December 26, 2023
Novak Djokovic in 2023
Now the world no.1, Djokovic played his last match on the 25th of November when he lost to world no.4 Jannik Sinner 6-2 2-6 7-5 in the Rubber 2 of the Davis Cup (draw).
This year Djokovic achieved a composed 56-7 record. The Serbian has won 7 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open, French Open, Cincinnati, U.S. Open, Paris and the Nitto ATP Finals. Novak got to the final in Wimbledon.
Djokovic will play next at the Australian Open (Australian Open). He will begin to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 14th of January.
Iga Swiatek in 2023
Now ranked no.1, Iga played her last match on the 6th of November when she overcame world no.5 Jessica Pegula 6-1 6-0 in the final in Cancun to win her 17th career title.
At the moment, during this season Swiatek owns a compiled 68-11 record. The Pole clinched 6 titles in 2023 in Doha, Stuttgart, French Open, Warsaw, Beijing and Cancun. The Pole reached the final in Dubai and Madrid.
Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek |
Embed from Getty Images |