Tennis players are being well represented in national athlete of the year awards, with several of this past season's Grand Slam finalists and semifinalists being recognized in their countries.
Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka were both nominated for Sportsman of the Year in Switzerland; Federer won with about 32 percent of the vote, while Wawrinka received around 21 percent—more than half of all votes cast between the two of them.
World No. 5 Kei Nishikori, who reached the final of the U.S. Open, was the winner at the Japanese Sports Awards, telling the ceremony via video, “I want to do my best so I can return to more Grand Slam finals."
French Open finalist Simona Halep was voted Romanian Athlete of the Year, while Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova placed third in Slovakia. "The first four months were absolutely fabulous and everything went off without a hitch. The second half did not go according to my expectations, but I have gained further valuable experience," said Cibulkova.
Wimbledon semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov was Athlete of the Year in Bulgaria. Fellow Wimbledon semifinalist Milos Raonic was the Canadian Press Male Athlete of the year for the second year in a row, receiving 35 percent of the vote. "It doesn’t matter how much I do, I always want more—especially when it comes to my tennis," said Raonic.
Eugenie Bouchard, who reached the Wimbledon final, was voted the Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row, receiving almost all of the votes. The resurgent David Goffin was among the contenders for Belgium's athlete of the year.