🔗 Share this article Top-ranked Sabalenka Secures Back-to-Back WTA Top Player Accolades. The Belarusian player concluded the year with an notable twenty-three to three Grand Slam match record. World number one Aryna Sabalenka has been voted the Women's Tennis Association player of the year for a second straight year. The twenty-seven-year-old won four titles – the most on tour – which included retaining the US Open in September versus Amanda Anisimova to claim her fourth career Grand Slam singles championship. A Year of Dominance Over the course of the tour, Sabalenka played in a circuit-leading nine finals, with defeats coming against Madison Keys in the Australian Open final at the start of the year and Coco Gauff in the French Open final. The star player also won the Brisbane International in January, the Miami Open in March, and the Madrid Open as the clay season progressed. She remained the entire year as the world number one, concluding 2025 atop the rankings for a second straight year. This past summer, she became the first athlete to exceed 12,000 WTA ranking points since Serena Williams did so nearly a decade ago. Historic Numbers Sabalenka ended the competitive year with a 63-12 match record, and collected a historic £11m in prize money. She garnered nearly 80% of the votes submitted by international tennis media. On 28 December, she is poised to compete against 2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios in a Battle of the Sexes-style exhibition match in a bid to "raise women's tennis to a greater prominence". Other WTA Award Winners Returning Star of the Year: Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, twenty-eight, was voted after taking extended hiatus after the arrival of her daughter and returning to the sport earlier this season. Rookie of the Year: Canadian 19-year-old 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 selected after winning their second career Grand Slam title together. Most Improved Player of the Year: Amanda Anisimova received the accolade after making five championship matches. Last week, Carlos Alcaraz won three awards in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Awards, including the season-ending top rank award, while Jannik Sinner was chosen as the fan favorite for a third consecutive time.