A trio of Grand Slam champions - and WTA Players of the Year - capped their season as ITF World Champions on Friday.

Wimbledon champion Garbiñe Muguruza and US Open champions Chan Yung-Jan and Martina Hingis, the WTA Player of the Year and Doubles Team of the Year, respectively, were honored. 

Muguruza and Chan each earned their first ITF season-ending honor, while Hingis earned her third in doubles (1997, 2015) to go along with three in singles (1997, 1999 and 2000).

Muguruza is the second Spanish woman to be named ITF Women's World Champion after Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in 1994. After a breakout 2016 in which she won her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, Muguruza added a second Grand Slam title to her resume this year, winning Wimbledon with the loss of just one set.

The Spaniard went on to achieve the No. 1 ranking in September after the US Open, finishing the year at No. 2. 

She also won the title at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, reached the semifinals or better at Brisbane, Rome, Birmingham, Stanford, and Tokyo PPO, and was the first to qualify for the 2017 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global - her third appearance at the event.

Muguruza and Rafael Nadal, the ITF men's world champion, both represent Spain - marking the first time since Americans Pete Sampras and Lindsay Davenport in 1998 that the men’s and women’s ITF World Champions are from the same country.

Muguruza said: “Becoming ITF World Champion in such a competitive year is amazing for me and is even more special because Rafa [Nadal] has also been awarded on the men's side. He is a great role model for all of us, so it is a great moment for tennis in Spain."

After pairing up in the spring, Chan and Hingis also enjoyed an outstanding first season together to end 2017 as the No. 1-ranked team. 

"I knew that putting in the hard work would pay off eventually and it made winning Wimbledon and achieving the No. 1 ranking so special. I’m motivated to take everything I’ve learned this year and apply it to my work next season.”

- Garbiñe Muguruza

The pair won all nine finals they contested, including winning the US Open without dropping a set, and their incredible season as a team came to a close as Hingis announced her retirement at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. 

"It’s a great honor to be recognised again as ITF World Doubles Champion and to have the news top off what’s been an amazing final season for me," said Hingis. "I look forward to coming back to Paris next year."

Added Chan: "It’s an honor to be named ITF World Doubles Champion and I am even happier that I get to share it with Martina. We had an amazing season together and I am very pleased we got to finish it on such a high note."

The ITF’s selection of its senior World Champions is based on an objective system that considers all results during the year, but gives special weight to the Grand Slam tournaments, and two ITF international team competitions, Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas.