SABALENKA NAMED WTA PLAYER OF THE YEAR AFTER DOMINANT SEASON

By: Gyang Dakwo

World number one Aryna Sabalenka has been voted the Women’s Tennis Association player of the year for a second year in a row, and the award crowns another powerful season for the Belarusian star.

The 27-year-old won four titles, which was more than any other player on tour, and she led the way by retaining her US Open title in September after beating Amanda Anisimova in the final. That victory gave her a fourth Grand Slam singles crown and confirmed her place at the top of the women’s game.

Across the season, Sabalenka reached nine finals, which was also the most on tour, but she fell short in two of the biggest. She lost to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final in January, and then to Coco Gauff in the French Open final in June, yet those defeats did little to slow her overall run.

She also lifted the Brisbane International trophy in January, won the Miami Open in March, and followed that with victory at the Madrid Open in May. Because of that steady success, she stayed as world number one throughout the year and finished 2025 at the top of the rankings for a second straight season.

In July, Sabalenka reached another milestone when she became the first player since Serena Williams in 2015 to pass 12,000 WTA ranking points, and it underlined just how far ahead she was of the rest of the field.

She ended the season with a 63 to 12 win-loss record, and she earned a record £11 million in prize money. Her impact was also clear in the voting, as she received almost 80 percent of the votes cast by international tennis media.

Looking ahead, Sabalenka is set for a different kind of challenge, as she will face 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios on 28 December in a Battle of the Sexes-style exhibition match. She said the match is part of an effort to help bring women’s tennis to a higher level, and it will close a year that firmly belonged to her.