Winners announced: 2025 WTA Tour Player Awards set the tone for Award Week
ST PETERSBURG, FLA — The WTA unveiled the initial honorees for its annual Awards, honoring the season’s standout players, tournaments, and coaches, along with athletes who made extraordinary contributions to the Tour off the court.
Award Week will roll out celebrations for the top performers over the next several days, beginning with the Player Award winners. These picks were determined by votes from international media members.
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Player of the Year
Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka has been named Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, joining an elite group of just three players in the last 15 years to win the honor more than once. She captured nearly 80% of the media vote after a dominant year that saw her reach the most finals (9), win the most titles (4), secure the most match wins (63), and set a new single-season prize money record with $15,008,519.
Sabalenka spent the entire year as the WTA World No. 1 in the rankings, finishing at the top for a second straight year. She now sits 12th on the all-time list for weeks at No. 1.
Doubles Team of the Year
Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend
Siniakova and Townsend had a landmark season, claiming their second Grand Slam title together at the Australian Open, topping the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, and reaching another major final at the US Open. Their results propelled Townsend to the top of the doubles rankings, becoming the first player to achieve the No. 1 doubles spot while also being a mother.
Siniakova added another record to her resume, moving to third on the all-time list for weeks as doubles No. 1 (174 weeks as of Dec. 15) and tying Martina Navratilova for the most year-end No. 1 finishes (5).
Most Improved Player
Amanda Anisimova
Amanda Anisimova stood out as the sole player this season nominated in two categories (also Player of the Year), underscoring her remarkable 2025 run. The American reached five finals, captured her first WTA 1000 titles at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open (Doha) and the China Open (Beijing), and made her first Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon and the US Open. She also reached the title match at the WTA 500 HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club, broke into the Top 10 in July, and qualified for the WTA Finals for the first time.
Comeback Player of the Year
Belinda Bencic
Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic returned to competition after giving birth to her daughter Bella in April 2024. She resumed competing at the United Cup to start the year, then posted a career-best Round of 16 showing at the Australian Open. Her surge culminated in a title run at the WTA 500 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, where she defeated World No. 5 Elena Rybakina en route to the title.
Bencic continued to rise, reaching the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time and finishing the season with her 10th career title at the WTA 500 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
Newcomer of the Year
Victoria Mboko
Victoria Mboko, aged 19, exploded onto the scene in 2025, climbing from outside the Top 300 to as high as No. 18 by year’s end. Her breakout began with her Tour debut at the WTA 1000 Miami Open presented by Itaú, followed by appearances at her first Grand Slams in Paris and London. She then claimed a stunning home-title run at the WTA 1000 National Bank Open presented by Rogers.
Mboko’s Montreal run shattered records, including becoming the Open Era’s second-youngest woman to defeat four former Grand Slam champions in a single event. She closed the year with additional silverware at the WTA 250 Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, sealing a memorable season.
