🔗 Share this article Reigning Aryna Sabalenka Claims Back-to-Back WTA Player of the Year Honors. Aryna Sabalenka finished the year with an notable 23-3 Grand Slam win-loss record. World number one Aryna Sabalenka has been chosen the Women's Tennis Association player of the year for a second consecutive year. The 27-year-old captured four titles – the most on tour – including retaining the US Open in September versus Amanda Anisimova to claim her fourth career Grand Slam singles title. A Season of Dominance Across the season, Sabalenka reached a circuit-leading nine championship matches, 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 triumphed at the Brisbane International in January, the Miami Open in March, and the Madrid Open in May. She spent the entire year as the world number one, ending 2025 on top of the rankings for a second straight year. In July, she achieved the status of being the first player to top 12,000 WTA ranking points since Serena Williams did so nearly a decade ago. Record-Breaking Statistics Sabalenka concluded the season with a 63-12 match record, and earned a historic £11m in earnings. She earned almost 80% of the votes submitted by global tennis journalists. Later this month, she is set to play 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios in a Battle of the Sexes-style exhibition match with the aim of "help bring women's tennis to a higher level". Additional WTA Award Recipients Returning Star of the Year: Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, 28, received the award 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 teenager Victoria Mboko was honored with the award after starting the season positioned outside the world's top 300 and rising to world number 18. Doubles Team of the Year: Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend were voted after securing their second Grand Slam title together. Most Improved Player of the Year: Amanda Anisimova received the accolade after advancing to five championship matches. Recently, Carlos Alcaraz won three awards in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Awards, including the year-end number one award, while Jannik Sinner was voted fans' favourite for a third time.