Reigning Sabalenka Claims Back-to-Back WTA Player of the Year Honors.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka has been selected the Women's Tennis Association player of the year for a second straight year.
The 27-year-old secured four titles – the most on tour – including retaining the US Open in September versus Amanda Anisimova to earn her fourth career Grand Slam singles title.
A Year of Dominance
Throughout the year, Sabalenka played in a circuit-leading nine finals, with defeats coming to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final at the start of the year and Coco Gauff in June's French Open final.
The Belarusian also triumphed at the Brisbane International early in the season, the Miami Open in March, and the Madrid Open in May. She remained the whole season as the top-ranked player, finishing 2025 atop the rankings for a second successive year.
In July, she achieved the status of being the first player to top 12,000 WTA ranking points after Serena Williams did so nearly a decade ago.
Record-Breaking Achievements
Sabalenka finished the season with a sixty-three to twelve win-loss record, and earned a historic eleven million pounds in prize money.
She earned nearly 80% of the votes cast by international tennis media.
Later this month, she is poised to compete against 2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios in a Battle of the Sexes-style exhibition match in a bid to "elevate women's tennis to a greater prominence".
Other WTA Award Recipients
- Returning Star of the Year: Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, twenty-eight, was voted after taking a 13-month break after the arrival of her first child and returning to the sport earlier this season.
- Fresh Face of the Year: Canadian 19-year-old Victoria Mboko received the award after starting the season ranked beyond the world's top 300 and climbing to world number 18.
- Partnership of the Year: Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend were voted after winning their second Grand Slam title together.
- Biggest Leap of the Year: Amanda Anisimova received the accolade after reaching five finals.
Last week, Carlos Alcaraz took home 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.
