Top-ranked Sabalenka Wins Consecutive WTA Player of the Year Honors.
The top-ranked player Aryna Sabalenka has been selected the Women's Tennis Association player of the year for a second straight season.
The twenty-seven-year-old secured four tournament victories – the highest tally on the circuit – which included retaining the US Open in September against Amanda Anisimova to secure her fourth career Grand Slam singles triumph.
A Year of High Performance
Throughout the year, Sabalenka competed in a circuit-leading nine championship matches, with defeats coming to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final in January and Coco Gauff in the French Open final.
The Belarusian also won the Brisbane International in January, the Miami Open in March, and the Madrid Open as the clay season progressed. She remained the entire year as the top-ranked player, concluding 2025 on top of the rankings for a second straight year.
In July, she achieved the status of being the first athlete to top 12,000 WTA ranking points after Serena Williams did so nearly a decade ago.
Historic Achievements
Sabalenka finished the competitive year with a sixty-three to twelve win-loss record, and earned a historic £11m in prize money.
She received nearly 80% of the votes submitted by global tennis journalists.
Later this month, she is scheduled to face 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios in a high-profile mixed-gender exhibition match in a bid to "help bring women's tennis to a higher level".
Other WTA Award Honorees
- Comeback Player of the Year: Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, twenty-eight, received the award after taking 13-month break following the arrival of her daughter and making her comeback to the sport earlier this season.
- Fresh Face of the Year: Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko picked up the award after beginning the season positioned beyond the world's top 300 and climbing to world number 18.
- Partnership of the Year: Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend earned the title after capturing their second Grand Slam title as a pair.
- Most Improved Player of the Year: Amanda Anisimova was named after making five championship matches.
Last week, Carlos Alcaraz won three honours in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Awards, which included the season-ending top rank award, while Jannik Sinner was chosen as fans' favourite for a third consecutive time.