TENNIS in DEPTH.

Petra Kvitova has won the WTA player of the year award. The results of the annual awards were announced on Monday with the Czech star scooping the top prize. Kvitova, who rose from number 34 in the world at the start of 2011 to second in the ranking list by the season’s end, upset Maria Sharapova to win the Wimbledon title in July. She recently ended the season by winning the WTA Championships in Istanbul, her sixth title of the year, before helping her country claim the Fed Cup with victory over Russia in the final.

The 21-year-old said: “This season has been simply a dream. ”It is an incredible honour to win the player of the year award and join the ranks of some of the best players that have ever played the sport, especially Martina Navratilova. ”I will always cherish the 2011 season and look forward to building on it.”

Kvitova also won the most improved player gong, which, like the main prize, was voted upon by the media, while her fellow players picked her to win the Karen Krantzcke sportsmanship award, which acknowledges a player’s professionalism, attitude and sense of fair play.

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