Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Romania’s Simona Halep have been named the 2018 ITF World Champions.
Djokovic receives the honour for the sixth time, while it is the first year Halep has been recognised. “I am very honoured to be named ITF World Champion again. I am particularly proud of this achievement after all that I’ve been through physically this year, but part of me always believed I could make it back to the top. It is very satisfying to join Pete Sampras by winning my sixth award,” said Djokovic. Djokovic’s award caps a remarkable year which saw him recover from elbow surgery, win four titles including Wimbledon and the US Open, and climb from No. 22 in the rankings to secure the year-end world No. 1 position.
Halep also enjoyed Grand Slam success in 2018, claiming her maiden major title at Roland Garros and reaching the final at the Australian Open. The Romanian has spent 40 weeks of the year ranked as world No. 1. “It’s a great honour to be named as ITF World Champion for the first time. I had an incredible year, winning my first Grand Slam at Roland Garros and finishing the year as world No. 1. To be recognised in this way is really special and provides extra motivation to keep working for next season,” said Halep. USA’s Mike Bryan and Jack Sock will receive the award in the men’s doubles category after winning two Grand Slam titles and triumphing at the ATP Finals. It will be the 12th time Bryan has received the award but the first time Sock has been honoured. The Women’s Doubles World Champions are Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, who lifted the trophy at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year and were members of the Czech Republic team that won the Fed Cup title.
Photo Credit: Lev Radin