Reigning Aryna Sabalenka Wins 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 won four titles – the most on tour – which included retaining the US Open in September against Amanda Anisimova to secure her fourth career Grand Slam singles triumph.
A Season of Dominance
Over the course of the tour, Sabalenka reached a tour-best nine finals, with losses coming against Madison Keys in the Australian Open final in January and Coco Gauff in June's French Open final.
The star player also claimed victory at the Brisbane International early in the season, the Miami Open in March, and the Madrid Open in May. She spent the entire year as the top-ranked player, concluding 2025 atop the rankings for a second successive year.
In July, she became the first athlete to top 12,000 WTA ranking points after Serena Williams did so nearly a decade ago.
Record-Breaking Statistics
Sabalenka finished the competitive year with a 63-12 win-loss record, and earned a record £11m in tournament winnings.
She garnered 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 "raise women's tennis to a higher level".
Other WTA Award Honorees
- Returning Star of the Year: Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, 28, received the award after taking 13-month break following the birth of her daughter and making her comeback to the sport at the start of this year.
- 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 climbing to world number 18.
- Partnership of the Year: Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend earned the title after winning their second Grand Slam title together.
- Most Improved Player of the Year: Amanda Anisimova received the accolade after reaching five finals.
Last week, Carlos Alcaraz secured three awards in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Awards, including the season-ending top rank award, while Jannik Sinner was chosen as fans' favourite for a third time.
