The 24-year-old Minsk native is currently getting ready for the new season, the Australian Open serving as its opening match in early January.
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According to BelTA, Aryna Sabalenka, the fifth-ranked player in the world, has been named Belarus’ top female tennis player for 2022. This season, Aryna Sabalenka played at the highest level, moving up to the second spot in the world rankings. She knocked off world No. 1 Iga Swiatek at the WTA Finals to advance to the championship match for the first time in her career. Additionally, Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the US Open semifinals, one of the Grand Slam competitions, for the second time in a row. The 24-year-old Minsk native is currently getting ready for the new season, the Australian Open serving as its opening match in early January.
Ilya Ivashka was named the top male tennis player in Belarus in 2022. He has competed successfully in prestigious tournaments this year, going head-to-head with the best tennis players in the world. He achieved his best ATP career ranking of No. 40 in June 2022.
The top doubles teams were Aleksandr Zgirovsky and Aleksandr Leonenko. The Belarusian wheelchair tennis champion, Vadzim Strelski, received a special award in the Character of the Year category. Stanislav Bulbenkov and Yulia Perepekhina were recognised as Belarus’ top junior tennis players in 2022. Anastasia Shleptsova rose to become Belarus’ top coach.
“It has been a very challenging year. I am grateful to our tennis players, who in the current difficult situation, including visa problems, suspension from some tournaments, post-COVID and other restrictions, managed to perform very well. As they say, hard times make strong people,” said Chairman of the Belarusian Tennis Federation Sergei Rutenko.
