ITF World Champions
Year Player Nationality
1978 Chris Evert United States
1979 Martina Navratilova United States
1980 Chris Evert ( 2 ) United States
1981 Chris Evert ( 3 ) United States
1982 Martina Navratilova ( 2 ) United States
1983 Martina Navratilova ( 3 ) United States
1984 Martina Navratilova ( 4 ) United States
1985 Martina Navratilova ( 5 ) United States
1986 Martina Navratilova ( 6 ) United States
1987 Steffi Graf West Germany
1988 Steffi Graf ( 2 ) West Germany
1989 Steffi Graf ( 3 ) West Germany
1990 Steffi Graf ( 4 ) Germany
1991 Monica Seles Yugoslavia
1992 Monica Seles ( 2 ) FR Yugoslavia
1993 Steffi Graf ( 5 ) Germany
1994 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Spain
1995 Steffi Graf ( 6 ) Germany
1996 Steffi Graf ( 7 ) Germany
1997 Martina Hingis Switzerland
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) designates a World Champion each year based on performances throughout the year, emphasising the Grand Slam tournaments, and also considering team events such as the Davis Cup and Fed Cup. Men's and women's singles champions were first named in 1978; the title is now also awarded for doubles, wheelchair, and junior players. It is sometimes named the ITF Player of the Year award, alluding to similar other year-end awards in tennis.