WTA Awards: Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic named Newcomer of the Year
Monday 17 November 2014 18:23, UK
Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic has been named the WTA's Newcomer of the Year for 2014.
Having ended 2013 as the world number 212, the 17-year-old stormed up the ranking list during the season to finish in 33rd place.
A run to the quarter-finals of the US Open where she beat top-10 stars Jelena Jankovic and Angelique Kerber was arguably the highlight of her year, while she also reached her first WTA final in Tianjin towards the end of the season.
Bencic told the WTA's official website: "It's a great honour and privilege to have been voted the WTA's Newcomer of the Year for 2014.
"It has been a challenging and rewarding year for me and I hope to be able to build on my success from 2014 in the future. I have been watching top WTA players all my life and to have been able to be on the same court as some of the world's greatest players is a dream come true.
"I hope to make as much progress in 2015 as I did this year."
Previous winners of the award include the Williams sisters, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters and Bencic's fellow Swiss Martina Hingis. Bencic has been coached at times by Hingis' mother Melanie Monitor and that has been reflected in her playing style.
Briton Laura Robson was the 2012 recipient of the award which is voted for my members of the media and fans.
