World number one in doubles Kateřina Siniaková won the 30th anniversary Golden Canary poll. The 26-year-old tennis player received an award from Tennis magazine and the Czech Tennis Association for the first time. She replaced her doubles partner Barbora Krejčíková on the throne, with whom she won three Grand Slam titles this year and together she also won the best doubles duo of the year category.
Siniaková and Krejčíková triumphed at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open and managed to complete their career Grand Slam. The Hradec Králové native finished the year as world number one in doubles for the third time in her career. In September she won the tournament in Portoroz and celebrated her first singles title in five years.
“I feel great. It’s a great honor to be among these names. I can’t believe I’m here and have this main award,” Siniaková said on the podium at the announcement. “Everything doesn’t always go up and there are also big fluctuations. I would like to thank everyone who supports me,” she added.
The award for the best player of the year was defended by Jiří Leheček, who worked his way up to the position of Czech number one. The Mladá native Boleslav also received an award for advancing in the ATP rankings. He improved from 141st place to his current 81st place.
Among the women, the Czech tennis player with the highest ranking Petra Kvitová triumphed, to whom she belongs in 16th place in the WTA rankings. Marie Bouzková received the award for moving up in the singles ranking, which improved from 90th to 24th place.
Siniaková, the 49th player in the world, received 100 points out of a possible 162 in the voting for the Golden Canary. Doubles duo Krejčíková and Siniaková finished second with 23 votes. Leheček and Kvitová received ten votes, the women’s team, which reached the semifinals of the Billie Jean King Cup, received one vote less.
The women succeeded in the main category for the ninth time in a row. In addition to Siniaková and Krejčíková, the Golden Canary won the Fed Cup selection three times during this period, Petra Kvitová, a three-time winner, managed it twice. Karolína Plíšková and Barbora Strýcová also triumphed once in the poll. The men last rejoiced in 2013 thanks to the Davis Cup team.
Under 14 world champions Alena Kovačková, Laura Samsonová and Eliška Forejtková, led by captain Petra Cetkovská, became the team of the year. Kovačková is also the talent of the year, Maxim Mrva won among the boys.
The best wheelchair tennis player is Tomáš Svášek. The ČTS President’s Award went to Jana Strnisková, youth coach and longtime manager of the sports section of the tennis association, and Daniel Vacek, former Davis Cup representative and current coach of the national youth team.
Golden Canary 2022, a survey by Tenis magazine in cooperation with the Czech Tennis Association:
Golden Canaries 2022: Kateřina Siniaková (TK Sparta Prague)
The best Czech player: Jiří Lehečka (TK Agrofert Prostějov)
The best Czech player: Petra Kvitova (TK Sparta Prague)
Climb the ladder ATP: Jiří Lehečka
Advancement in the WTA rankings: Marie Bouzková (TK Sparta Prague)
Two pair of the year: Barbora Krejčíková (Tennis Ivančice), Kateřina Siniaková
Team of the Year: Under 14 World Champion (Alena Kovačková, Laura Samsonová, Eliška Forejtková, captain Petra Cetkovská)
Talent of the year – boys: Maxim Mrva (TK Agrofert Prostějov)
Talent of the year – girls: Alena Kovačková (TK Sparta Prague)
Senior of the Year: Barbora Koutná (TJ Baník Ostrava OKD)
The best wheelchair tennis player: Tomáš Svášek (Brandýs nad Labem)
President ČTS price: Jana Strnisková and Daniel Vacek
CTS President’s Quarter Century Award: physiotherapist Pavel Kolář
