World number two Victoria Azarenka was bestowed with the Diamond ACES Award for the second straight year for her outstanding contribution in promoting tennis this season. The honor was given during the WTA Championships held in Istanbul last week.
The award is given to a player who consistently goes above and beyond in promoting women’s tennis to fans, media and local communities by performing off-court promotional and charitable activities, as explained at the WTA website. This is the seventh year where a point-weighted system was implemented to award the players.
“I want to congratulate Victoria on her outstanding season and the contributions she has made through the WTA’s Diamond ACES program,” said Stacey Allaster, WTA Chairman & CEO. “Vika, and all WTA players, proudly serve as ambassadors of the game and continue to inspire future generations, on and off the court.”
Azarenka’s contributions this year include participating at a major event in New York City to mark the 40th anniversary celebration of the WTA, participating at a major activity at the Toray Pan Pacific Open where she hit with children on the center court and spent time with young children at the Baptist Children’s Hospital during the Sony Open Tennis earlier this year.
The Diamond ACES Award was introduced in 1995 in memory of former WTA CEO Jerry Diamond. Since then 13 players have won the award: Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario, Gabriela Sabatini, Amanda Coetzer, Lindsay Davenport, Martina Hingis, Anastasia Myskina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, Elena Dementieva, Samantha Stosur, Caroline Wozniacki and Azarenka.
