"Iga Swiatek wins or it's rigged" - Tennis fans unanimously pick the Pole to win annual WTA Player of the Year award

As soon as the WTA announced the nominees for the Player of the Year category, Iga Swiatek received an overwhelming response from tennis fans for the phenomenal season that she had in 2022. Other nominees include Ons Jabeur, Jessica Pegula, Caroline Garcia, Elena Rybakina, and Coco Gauff.

The soon-to-be-held awards feature five categories for the players — Player of the Year, Doubles Team of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Comeback Player of the Year. Another category lists some of the coaches with the best results this season. The winners will be decided by the votes of international tennis media members.

As far as the Player of the Year award is concerned, the majority of fans suggested that there was no need to vote since World No. 1 Swiatek completely dominated the season.

"Why are there 6 nominees? Lol. Like seriously. Just look at the rankings for frikk sakes. Swiatek leads the ranking by like 6000 points lol. If she doesn't win it, cancel the damn award," a fan tweeted.

"Tennis is so funny, we literally know who won the most titles, who has more points, etc and we still get a bunch of journalists to vote for Player of the year, lmao," another user wrote.

"Can’t help thinking @ashbarty should be on this list. Feels like a lifetime ago, but she did go 11-0 beating four of the players on that list to win the Adelaide WTA 500 and #AusOpen. Love Swiatek for the award, just thought it deserved a mention," one tweet read.

Here are some more fan reactions:

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Iga Swiatek's 2022 season

Iga Swiatek finished the year as the top-ranked player

Iga Swiatek's extraordinary run in 2022 ended with a win-loss record of 67-9. She added a staggering eight WTA singles titles to her trophy cabinet, including four WTA 1000, two WTA 500, and two Grand Slam titles — the French Open and the US Open.

The difference between the World No. 1 and second-ranked Ons Jabeur's ranking points is a testament to the 21-year-old's dominance. While the Tunisian amassed 5,055 points, Swiatek racked up more than double that — 11,085 points. This is the highest for any player since Serena Williams' 13,260 points in 2013.

Another major accomplishment for the three-time Grand Slam winner was breaking Venus Williams' record for most consecutive wins this century. The American icon had 35 straight wins against her name, and Swiatek went a step further to win 37 matches on the trot.

After losing her last match of the year to Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals of the WTA Finals, the Pole stated that she was relieved that the season was over.

"This season has been so intense and I’m so proud of myself that I could play so well till the end. I’m happy it’s done," Iga Swiatek said.