Bogdan, Riera, Tauson and Wang win first Heart Awards of 2024

21/05/2024 15:10

Romania’s Ana Bogdan, Argentina’s Julia Riera, Denmark’s Clara Tauson and China’s Wang Xinyu have been announced as the winners of the first Billie Jean King Cup Heart Awards of 2024.

By Ed Pearson
Bogdan, Riera, Tauson and Wang win first Heart Awards of 2024
The Heart Award vote, which came to a close last week, gives fans the power to say who they think represented their countries with courage and distinction during the most recent round of the competition.
 
Romania’s Ana Bogdan clinched a very tight public vote against Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu to lay claim to the Heart Award from the 2024 Qualifiers.
 
“I am so happy and proud to have won the Billie Jean King Cup Heart Award,” said Bogdan, who is donating her $3,000 prize to a Romanian charity for children with heart disease. “It’s a very special award and I won it not going for myself but for the whole country.
 
“Every time I step on the court and represent my country in the competition I always play with my heart and give everything that I have out there.”
 
The three regional winners each won $2,000 to donate to a charity of their choice.
 
Tauson, who won the Europe/Africa Group I award by receiving more fan votes than Netherlands’ Suzen Lamens, said: “A huge thank you to everyone who voted, and especially to those who voted for me. I am very honoured and grateful. And of course, a big thank you to my teammates for together creating a very special week."