Dominant Aryna Sabalenka Wins Back-to-Back WTA Player of the Year Awards.
The top-ranked player Aryna Sabalenka has been selected the Women's Tennis Association top performer of the year for a second successive year.
The 27-year-old secured four tournament victories – the highest tally on the circuit – which included successfully defending the US Open in September against Amanda Anisimova to secure her fourth career Grand Slam singles championship.
A Year of Dominance
Throughout the year, Sabalenka reached a tour-best nine finals, with losses coming to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final at the start of the year and Coco Gauff in the French Open final.
The Belarusian also claimed victory at the Brisbane International in January, the Miami Open during the spring, and the Madrid Open as the clay season progressed. She remained the whole season as the world number one, ending 2025 atop the rankings for a second successive year.
This past summer, she achieved the status of being the first athlete to exceed 12,000 WTA ranking points after Serena Williams did so nearly a decade ago.
Historic Achievements
Sabalenka finished the season with a 63-12 win-loss record, and earned a record £11m in earnings.
She earned nearly 80% of the votes cast by global tennis journalists.
On 28 December, she is poised to compete against 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios in a Battle of the Sexes-style exhibition match with the aim of "raise women's tennis to a higher level".
Additional WTA Award Winners
- Comeback Player of the Year: Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, twenty-eight, was voted after taking a extended hiatus following the birth of her first child and making her comeback to the sport at the start of this year.
- Fresh Face of the Year: Canadian 19-year-old Victoria Mboko picked up the award after beginning the season ranked outside the world's top 300 and climbing to the eighteenth spot.
- Partnership of the Year: Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend were voted after capturing their second Grand Slam title as a pair.
- Most Improved Player of the Year: Amanda Anisimova was named after advancing to five championship matches.
Last week, Carlos Alcaraz secured three awards in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Awards, which included the year-end number one award, while Jannik Sinner was voted the fan favorite for a third consecutive time.