The world’s top-ranked player Aryna Sabalenka, has been named the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) player of the year for the second year in a row.
The 27-year-old claimed four titles this season, the highest on tour, including her victory at the US Open against Amanda Anisimova in September, marking her fourth Grand Slam singles title.
Throughout the season, Sabalenka reached a tour-leading nine finals, suffering defeats to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final in January and Coco Gauff in the French Open final in June.
The Belarusian also triumphed at the Brisbane International in January, the Miami Open in March, and the Madrid Open in May, maintaining her position as world number one for the entire year and finishing 2025 at the top of the rankings for the second consecutive year.
In July, she became the first player to surpass 12,000 WTA ranking points since Serena Williams in 2015.
Sabalenka concluded the season with a 63-12 win-loss record and earned a record £11 million in prize money.
She garnered nearly 80% of the votes from international tennis media.
On December 28, she will compete against 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios in a Battle of the Sexes-style exhibition match aimed at “elevating women’s tennis.”
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Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, 28, was named comeback player of the year after taking a 13-month hiatus following the birth of her first child and returning to tennis at the start of this year.
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko, 19, was awarded newcomer of the year after rising from outside the top 300 at the beginning of the season to world number 18.
Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend were recognized as the doubles team of the year after winning their second Grand Slam title together, while Amanda Anisimova was named the most improved player of the year after reaching five finals.
Last week, Carlos Alcaraz received three awards at the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Awards, including the year-end number one honor, while Jannik Sinner was voted fans’ favorite for the third time.
