🔗 Share this article Reigning Sabalenka Wins Back-to-Back WTA Player of the Year Awards. The Belarusian player ended the year with an impressive 23-3 Grand Slam match record. The top-ranked player Aryna Sabalenka has been chosen the Women's Tennis Association player of the year for a second successive year. The twenty-seven-year-old won four tournament victories – the highest tally on the circuit – including retaining the US Open in September against Amanda Anisimova to secure her fourth career Grand Slam singles triumph. A Season of Consistency Throughout the year, Sabalenka reached a circuit-leading nine championship matches, with losses coming to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final in January and Coco Gauff in June's French Open final. The Belarusian also claimed victory at the Brisbane International in January, the Miami Open during the spring, and the Madrid Open in May. She spent the entire year as the top-ranked player, ending 2025 on top of the rankings for a second successive year. In July, she became the first player to exceed 12,000 WTA ranking points after Serena Williams did so nearly a decade ago. Record-Breaking Statistics Sabalenka ended the season with a 63-12 match record, and collected a record eleven million pounds in tournament winnings. She received nearly eighty percent of the votes submitted by international tennis media. On 28 December, she is scheduled to face 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 greater prominence". Other WTA Award Honorees Returning Star of the Year: Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, 28, was voted after taking 13-month break after the arrival of her daughter and returning to the sport earlier this season. Rookie of the Year: Canadian 19-year-old Victoria Mboko received the award after beginning the season positioned outside the world's top 300 and soaring to the eighteenth spot. Doubles Team 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 was named after advancing to five championship matches. Recently, Carlos Alcaraz won three honours in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Awards, including the season-ending top rank award, while Jannik Sinner was voted fans' favourite for a third time.