Sabalenka wins WTA awards for second straight year

World number one Aryna Sabalenka has been voted the Women's Tennis Association player of the year for a second successive season

The 27-year-old won four titles - the most on tour - including retaining the US Open against Amanda Anisimova in September to claim her fourth Grand Slam singles triumph. Across the season Sabalenka played in a tour-best nine finals, with losses to Madison Keys in the Australian Open final in January and Coco Gauff in June's French Open final.

The Belarusian also won the Brisbane International in January, the Miami Open in March and the Madrid Open in May, and spent the entire year as world number one, finishing 2025 top of the rankings for a second successive year. In July, she became the first player to top 12,000 WTA ranking points since Serena Williams in 2015.

Sabalenka finished the season with a 63-12 win-loss record, and picked up a record £11m in prize money. She received almost 80% of the votes cast by international tennis media.

On 28 December, she will face 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios in a Battle of the Sexes-style exhibition match in a bid to "help bring women's tennis to a higher level".

Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, 28, has been voted comeback player of the year after taking a 13-month break following the birth of her first child and returning to the sport at the start of this year.

Canadian 19-year-old Victoria Mboko picked up newcomer of the year after starting the season ranked outside the world's top 300 and climbing to world number 18. Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend were voted doubles team of the year after winning their second Grand Slam title together, while Anisimova was named most improved player of the year after reaching five finals.

Last week, Carlos Alcaraz took home three honours 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.