Dominant Sabalenka Claims Back-to-Back WTA Player of the Year Honors.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka has been selected the Women's Tennis Association top performer of the year for a second successive season.
The twenty-seven-year-old secured four tournament victories – the highest tally on the circuit – which included retaining the US Open this past September versus Amanda Anisimova to earn her fourth Grand Slam singles triumph.
A Year of Consistency
Throughout the year, Sabalenka played in a tour-best nine finals, with losses coming to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final in January and Coco Gauff in the French Open final.
The Belarusian also triumphed at the Brisbane International early in the season, the Miami Open during the spring, and the Madrid Open as the clay season progressed. She spent the entire year as the world number one, finishing 2025 on top of the rankings for a second successive year.
In July, she achieved the status of being the first athlete to top 12,000 WTA ranking points since Serena Williams did so nearly a decade ago.
Record-Breaking Statistics
Sabalenka concluded the season with a 63-12 win-loss record, and earned a historic £11m in earnings.
She received almost 80% of the votes submitted by international tennis media.
On 28 December, she is poised to compete against 2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios in a Battle of the Sexes-style exhibition match in a bid to "raise women's tennis to a higher level".
Other WTA Award Recipients
- Returning Star of the Year: Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, twenty-eight, was voted after taking a extended hiatus following the arrival of her daughter and returning to the sport earlier this season.
- Rookie of the Year: Canadian 19-year-old Victoria Mboko picked up the award after starting the season ranked beyond the world's top 300 and soaring to world number 18.
- Partnership of the Year: Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend were selected after winning their second career Grand Slam title as a pair.
- Biggest Leap of the Year: Amanda Anisimova received the accolade after advancing to five finals.
Recently, Carlos Alcaraz took home three awards in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Awards, including the year-end number one award, while Jannik Sinner was chosen as fans' favourite for a third time.
