Kim Clijsters of Belgium was voted Player of the Year for the 2nd time in her career. She first earned that honor in 2005.
The 27-year-old from Belgium won five titles in 2010, including her second U.S. Open crown in a row. She won at Brisbane, Miami, Cincinnati, and the season-ending WTA Championships in Doha, as well as taking her third title at Flushing Meadows.
Just one year after making a comeback following a break to rest injuries and start a family, Clijsters was voted the top honor in a balloting of players as well as the Player Service award given to the woman who did the most to support her fellow players through the WTA players’ council or other initiatives.
“It’s really nice to win the Player of the Year award just one year after making a comeback,” Clijsters said. “While I didn’t think it would come so quickly, I am thrilled.
“This year I met a lot of new girls and it was very nice that so many of them had positive reactions to my daughter Jada as well.”
Other awards went to Belgium’s Justine Henin as comeback player of the year; Maria Sharapova as humanitarian of the year; Italy’s Flavia Pennetta and Argentina’s Gisela Dulko as doubles team of the year; and the Czech Republic’s 20-year-old Petra Kvitova, a Wimbledon semifinalist, as newcomer of the year.
