The ITF announced that Caroline Garcia has won the final Fed Cup Heart Award of 2016 for her performance in the World Group semifinals. She is the first French player to receive a Heart Award.

The 22-year-old helped France to a 3-2 victory over Netherlands in April’s World Group semifinal tie in Trelaze. She defeated Arantxa Rus in straight sets on day two before joining forces with Kristina Mladenovic to overcome Kiki Bertens and Richel Hogenkamp in three sets in the deciding doubles rubber.

Garcia will receive a cheque for US$10,000 , which will be donated to Sourire à la Vie, a charity dedicated to children with cancer.

Garcia said: “It’s an honour for me to have won this award presented by the ITF regarding the Fed Cup. I would like to thank all the fans who follow me and who have voted for me, their messages affect me a lot.

“I wish the money to go to the charity Sourire à la Vie which works on behalf of children who suffer from cancer by helping them to enjoy life. This is a charity which touches me a lot. I hope my modest contribution will help children to fight the disease and to smile again.”

Garcia was selected for the latest award alongside Kiki Bertens (NED), Viktorija Golubic (SUI) and Karolina Pliskova (CZE). All four players competed in the World Group semifinals on 16-17 April.

The players were shortlisted by the Heart Award judging panel, consisting of ITF President David Haggerty and a mixture of former players and members of the international media. A public vote, which ran on 3-6 October, was held on FedCup.com and FedCup.com/es to decide the winner.

A total of six Heart Awards will be presented in 2016. Garcia follows in the footsteps of Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR), Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE), Nadia Podoroska (ARG), Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) and Hsu Ching-Wen (TPE), who were honoured earlier this year. The award will be presented at the 2016 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Final in Strasbourg.

ITF President David Haggerty said: “I would like to congratulate Caroline for her commitment to the French Fed Cup team and some outstanding performances. She has played a key role in her team’s success in recent years, during which she has demonstrated her fighting qualities and a strong team spirit.”

The Fed Cup Heart Award is an ITF initiative that was first presented to USA's Melanie Oudin at the 2009 Fed Cup Final. It aims to recognise players who have represented their country with distinction, shown exceptional courage on court and demonstrated outstanding commitment to their team.

Fed Cup by BNP Paribas is the World Cup of Tennis. It is the largest annual international team competition in women’s sport, with 102 nations entered in 2016. The competition is 53 years old having been founded in 1963. The title sponsor is BNP Paribas, the Official Bank of Fed Cup. International sponsors are Adecco (Official HR Sponsor) and Betway (Official Betting Sponsor). beIN SPORTS is the Official Global Media Rights Partner.