ITF World Champions


The International Tennis Federation designates a World Champion each year based on performances throughout the year, emphasising the Grand Slam tournaments, and also considering team events such as the Davis Cup and Fed Cup. Men's and women's singles champions were first named in 1978; the title is now also awarded for doubles, wheelchair, and junior players. It is sometimes named the "ITF Player of the Year" award, alluding to similar other year-end awards in tennis.

Rules and procedures

The ITF's constitution states that no tennis tournament can be designated the "World Championships" without unanimous consent of the ITF Council. There is currently no such tournament. The constitution also states:
It also states:
For singles, ITF appoints a panel of former top players at the start of the season, which votes on the champion at the end of the season.
The boys' and girls' singles and doubles titles prior to 2003 were awarded based on world ranking. Since then singles and doubles rankings have been combined in a single award each for boys and for girls.
The world champion accolade has been extended by the ITF to wheelchair tennis players of the Men's and Women's division since 1991. In November 2017, the ITF announced that the quad wheelchair tennis division is to be recognised in its annual list of ITF World Champions.
In 1996, the Philippe Chatrier Award was introduced, honouring individuals or organisations who have made outstanding contributions to tennis globally, both on and off the court. The award is considered to be the ITF's highest accolade and is named after the former French tennis player Philippe Chatrier, who was President of the governing body between 1977-1991.
The ITF World Champions' Dinner takes place in Paris during the French Open, to honour the previous year's champions, who are presented with a trophy, but not any monetary prize.

Men's singles

The first men's panel in 1978 had three members, Don Budge, Fred Perry, and Lew Hoad, who attended the season's Grand Slam events at ITF expense to inform their choice. The 1983 panel split two to one between John McEnroe and Mats Wilander. The 1984 panel had five members, while the 1985 panel had four: Budge, Perry, Hoad, and Tony Trabert. When Ivan Lendl was chosen as champion for 1985, the panel's announcement was accompanied with a rebuke for Lendl's criticism of some tournaments and his refusal to play in the Davis Cup. Perry and Trabert were on the 1986 panel, with performances outside the Grand Slams taken into consideration.
The 1990 designation of Lendl as champion was a surprise. That year, the Association of Tennis Professionals named Stefan Edberg its "Player of The Year", in accordance with the ATP Rankings, while Tennis Magazine ranked Edberg first, Andre Agassi second, and Lendl third. Tennis also suggested the ITF was punishing Edberg for denigrating the Grand Slam Cup tournament it had introduced. The ITF panel, of Perry, Trabert, and Frank Sedgman, called it "the toughest decision any of us can remember having to make", and stated it was Lendl's better average performance in the Grand Slams that made the difference.
The choice to award Djokovic the ITF World Champion of 2013 over Nadal was unexpected. Nadal finished the year ranked #1 and with more slams, more Masters titles, and more tournament titles. Similar to the situation with Edberg in 1990, the ITF cited Nadal's failure to win a match at 2 of the 4 slams to justify their decision and Djokovic’s consistent results across all four Slams, Davis Cup and the ATP World Tour Finals.
Other instances when the ITF choices differed from the ATP rankings are 1978, 1982, 1989. None of these, however, were controversial and were generally agreed upon, with the 1978 and 1982 choices being particularly clear cut in favor of Borg and Connors.
YearPlayer
1978 Björn Borg
1979 Björn Borg
1980 Björn Borg
1981 John McEnroe
1982 Jimmy Connors
1983 John McEnroe
1984 John McEnroe
1985 Ivan Lendl
1986 Ivan Lendl
1987 Ivan Lendl
1988 Mats Wilander
1989 Boris Becker
1990 Ivan Lendl
1991 Stefan Edberg
1992 Jim Courier
1993 Pete Sampras
1994 Pete Sampras
1995 Pete Sampras
1996 Pete Sampras
1997 Pete Sampras
1998 Pete Sampras
1999 Andre Agassi
2000 Gustavo Kuerten
2001 Lleyton Hewitt
2002 Lleyton Hewitt
2003 Andy Roddick
2004 Roger Federer
2005 Roger Federer
2006 Roger Federer
2007 Roger Federer
2008 Rafael Nadal
2009 Roger Federer
2010 Rafael Nadal
2011 Novak Djokovic
2012 Novak Djokovic
2013 Novak Djokovic
2014 Novak Djokovic
2015 Novak Djokovic
2016 Andy Murray
2017 Rafael Nadal
2018 Novak Djokovic
2019 Rafael Nadal

TotalPlayer
6 Pete Sampras
6 Novak Djokovic
5 Roger Federer
4 Ivan Lendl
4 Rafael Nadal
3 Björn Borg
3 John McEnroe
2 Lleyton Hewitt

Women's singles

The women's panel initially featured three former women's champions, Margaret Court, Margaret duPont and Ann Jones. Althea Gibson was a member through the early 1980s.
ITF world champions for women differed from the WTA year-end rankings the following years: 1978, 1994, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2017.
YearPlayerNationality
1978Chris EvertUnited States
1979Martina NavratilovaUnited States
1980Chris Evert United States
1981Chris Evert United States
1982Martina Navratilova United States
1983Martina Navratilova United States
1984Martina Navratilova United States
1985Martina Navratilova United States
1986Martina Navratilova United States
1987Steffi Graf
1988Steffi Graf
1989Steffi Graf
1990Steffi Graf Germany
1991Monica Seles
1992Monica Seles
1993Steffi Graf Germany
1994Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
1995Steffi Graf Germany
1996Steffi Graf Germany
1997Martina HingisSwitzerland
1998Lindsay DavenportUnited States
1999Martina Hingis Switzerland
2000Martina Hingis Switzerland
2001Jennifer CapriatiUnited States
2002Serena WilliamsUnited States
2003Justine HeninBelgium
2004Anastasia MyskinaRussia
2005Kim ClijstersBelgium
2006Justine Henin Belgium
2007Justine Henin Belgium
2008Jelena Janković
2009Serena Williams United States
2010Caroline Wozniacki
2011Petra Kvitová
2012Serena Williams United States
2013Serena Williams United States
2014Serena Williams United States
2015Serena Williams United States
2016Angelique KerberGermany
2017Garbiñe MuguruzaSpain
2018Simona HalepRomania
2019Ashleigh BartyAustralia

TotalPlayerNationality
7Steffi GrafGermany
6Martina NavratilovaUnited States
6Serena WilliamsUnited States
3Chris EvertUnited States
3Martina HingisSwitzerland
3Justine HeninBelgium
2Monica Seles

Men's doubles

Women's doubles

YearPlayerNationality
1996Lindsay Davenport & Mary Joe FernándezUnited States & United States
1997Lindsay Davenport & Jana NovotnáUnited States &
1998Lindsay Davenport & Natasha ZverevaUnited States &
1999Martina Hingis & Anna KournikovaSwitzerland & Russia
2000Julie Halard-Decugis & Ai SugiyamaFrance & Japan
2001Lisa Raymond & Rennae StubbsUnited States & Australia
2002Virginia Ruano Pascual & Paola SuárezSpain &
2003Virginia Ruano Pascual & Paola Suárez Spain &
2004Virginia Ruano Pascual & Paola Suárez Spain &
2005Lisa Raymond & Samantha StosurUnited States & Australia
2006Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur United States & Australia
2007Cara Black & Liezel Huber & United States
2008Cara Black & Liezel Huber & United States
2009Serena Williams & Venus WilliamsUnited States & United States
2010Gisela Dulko & Flavia Pennetta & Italy
2011Květa Peschke & Katarina Srebotnik &
2012Sara Errani & Roberta VinciItaly & Italy
2013Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci Italy & Italy
2014Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci Italy & Italy
2015Martina Hingis & Sania MirzaSwitzerland & India
2016Caroline Garcia & Kristina MladenovicFrance & France
2017Martina Hingis & Chan Yung-janSwitzerland & Chinese Taipei
2018Barbora Krejčíková & Kateřina SiniakováCzech Republic & Czech Republic
2019Tímea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic Hungary & France

Boys

Boys' singles (1978–2003)

YearPlayerNationality
1978Ivan Lendl
1979Raúl Viver
1980Thierry TulasneFrance
1981Pat CashAustralia
1982Guy ForgetFrance
1983Stefan EdbergSweden
1984Mark KratzmannAustralia
1985Claudio PistolesiItaly
1986Javier SánchezSpain
1987Jason StoltenbergAustralia
1988Nicolás Pereira
1989Nicklas KultiSweden
1990Andrea GaudenziItaly
1991Thomas EnqvistSweden
1992Brian DunnUnited States
1993Marcelo RíosChile
1994Federico Browne
1995Mariano Zabaleta
1996Sébastien GrosjeanFrance
1997Arnaud Di PasqualeFrance
1998Roger FedererSwitzerland
1999Kristian Pless
2000Andy RoddickUnited States
2001Gilles Müller
2002Richard GasquetFrance
2003Marcos Baghdatis

Boys' doubles (1982–2003)

YearPlayerNationality
1982Fernando Pérez PascalMexico
1983Mark KratzmannAustralia
1984Agustín MorenoMexico
1985Petr Korda & Cyril Suk &
1986Tomás CarbonellSpain
1987Jason StoltenbergAustralia
1988David Rikl & Tomáš Anzari &
1989Wayne Ferreira South Africa
1990Mårten RenströmSweden
1991Karim Alami
1992Enrique AbaroaMexico
1993Steven DownsNew Zealand
1994Benjamin EllwoodAustralia
1995Kepler Orellana
1996Sébastien GrosjeanFrance
1997Nicolás MassúChile
1998José de Armas
1999Julien Benneteau & Nicolas MahutFrance & France
2000Lee Childs & James Nelson &
2001Bruno Echagaray & Santiago GonzálezMexico & Mexico
2002Florin Mergea & Horia Tecău &
2003Scott OudsemaUnited States

Boys' combined (from 2004)

YearPlayerNationality
2004Gaël MonfilsFrance
2005Donald YoungUnited States
2006Thiemo de BakkerNetherlands
2007Ričardas Berankis
2008Yang Tsung-hua
2009Daniel BertaSweden
2010Juan Sebastián Gómez
2011Jiří Veselý
2012Filip PeliwoCanada
2013Alexander ZverevGermany
2014Andrey RublevRussia
2015Taylor FritzUnited States
2016Miomir Kecmanović
2017Axel Geller
2018Tseng Chun-hsin
2019Thiago Agustin Tirante

Girls

Girls' singles (1978–2003)

YearPlayerNationality
1978Hana Mandlíková
1979Mary-Lou PiatekUnited States
1980Susan MascarinUnited States
1981Zina GarrisonUnited States
1982Gretchen RushUnited States
1983Pascale ParadisFrance
1984Gabriela Sabatini
1985Laura GarroneItaly
1986Patricia Tarabini
1987Natasha Zvereva
1988Cristina Tessi
1989Florencia Labat
1990Karina Habšudová
1991Zdeňka Málková
1992Rossana de los Ríos
1993Nino Louarsabishvili
1994Martina HingisSwitzerland
1995Anna KournikovaRussia
1996Amélie MauresmoFrance
1997Cara Black
1998Jelena DokićAustralia
1999Lina KrasnoroutskayaRussia
2000María Emilia Salerni
2001Svetlana KuznetsovaRussia
2002Barbora Strýcová
2003Kirsten FlipkensBelgium

Girls' doubles (1982–2003)

YearPlayerNationality
1982Beth HerrUnited States
1983Larisa Savchenko
1984Mercedes Paz
1985Mariana Perez-Roldan & Patricia Tarabini &
1986Leila Meskhi
1987Natalia Medvedeva
1988Jo-Anne FaullAustralia
1989Andrea Strnadová
1990Karina Habšudová
1991Eva Martincová
1992Nancy Feber & Laurence CourtoisBelgium & Belgium
1993Cristina MorosUnited States
1994Martina Nedelkova
1995Ludmila Varmuzova
1996Jitka Schönfeldová & Michaela Paštiková &
1997Irina Selyutina & Cara Black &
1998Eva Dyrberg
1999Daniela Bedáňová
2000María Emilia Salerni
2001Petra Cetkovská
2002Elke ClijstersBelgium
2003Andrea Hlaváčková

Girls' combined (from 2004)

YearPlayerNationality
2004Michaëlla KrajicekNetherlands
2005Victoria Azarenka
2006Anastasia PavlyuchenkovaRussia
2007Urszula RadwańskaPoland
2008Noppawan Lertcheewakarn
2009Kristina MladenovicFrance
2010Daria GavrilovaRussia
2011Irina KhromachevaRussia
2012Taylor TownsendUnited States
2013Belinda BencicSwitzerland
2014Catherine "CiCi" BellisUnited States
2015Dalma Gálfi
2016Anastasia PotapovaRussia
2017Whitney OsuigweUnited States
2018Clara BurelFrance
2019Diane ParryFrance

Men's wheelchair

YearPlayerNationality
1991Randy SnowUnited States
1992Laurent GiammartiniFrance
1993Kai SchrameyerGermany
1994Laurent Giammartini France
1995David HallAustralia
1996Ricky MolierNetherlands
1997Ricky Molier Netherlands
1998David Hall Australia
1999Stephen WelchUnited States
2000David Hall Australia
2001Ricky Molier Netherlands
2002David Hall Australia
2003David Hall Australia
2004David Hall Australia
2005Michaël JeremiaszFrance
2006Robin AmmerlaanNetherlands
2007Shingo KuniedaJapan
2008Shingo Kunieda Japan
2009Shingo Kunieda Japan
2010Shingo Kunieda Japan
2011Maikel ScheffersNetherlands
2012Stéphane HoudetFrance
2013Shingo Kunieda Japan
2014Shingo Kunieda Japan
2015Shingo Kunieda Japan
2016Gordon Reid
2017Gustavo FernándezArgentina
2018Shingo Kunieda Japan
2019Gustavo Fernández Argentina

Women's wheelchair

YearPlayerNationality
1991Chantal VandierendonckNetherlands
1992Monique Van Den BoschNetherlands
1993Monique Kalkman Netherlands
1994Monique Kalkman Netherlands
1995Monique Kalkman Netherlands
1996Chantal Vandierendonck Netherlands
1997Chantal Vandierendonck Netherlands
1998Daniela Di ToroAustralia
1999Daniela Di Toro Australia
2000Esther VergeerNetherlands
2001Esther Vergeer Netherlands
2002Esther Vergeer Netherlands
2003Esther Vergeer Netherlands
2004Esther Vergeer Netherlands
2005Esther Vergeer Netherlands
2006Esther Vergeer Netherlands
2007Esther Vergeer Netherlands
2008Esther Vergeer Netherlands
2009Esther Vergeer Netherlands
2010Esther Vergeer Netherlands
2011Esther Vergeer Netherlands
2012Esther Vergeer Netherlands
2013Aniek van KootNetherlands
2014Yui KamijiJapan
2015Jiske GriffioenNetherlands
2016Jiske Griffioen Netherlands
2017Yui Kamiji Japan
2018Diede de GrootNetherlands
2019Diede de Groot Netherlands

Quad's wheelchair

YearPlayerNationality
2017David WagnerUnited States
2018Dylan AlcottAustralia
2019Dylan Alcott Australia

Footnotes