As tennis prepares for the 2026 season – which, for once, begins the year for which it is named – here is a look back at the past year on the WTA circuit.
It is not designed to be entirely comprehensive, and your opinions on the categories in the bottom speed race are one of the most exciting things about such an exercise. This is in the spirit of what comes to mind, in a banner year for women’s tennis that set up magnificently for the next.
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Best match
Charlie Eccleshare, Matthew Futterman: Madison Keys (19) vs. Iga Świątek (2), Australian Open Semi-Final
Eccleshare: This could have been her final victory against Aryna Sabalenka, but it just was Madison Keys wins Australian Open semi-final against Iga Świątek.
When Świątek went from 5-2 down to 5-5, but still won the first set, it looked like it was going to be another bad luck story for Keys, who had never won the Grand Slam title this was supposed to be his destiny.
This was again the case in the third set, when Świątek held a match point on his own serve. But Keys came back, as she did in the ensuing tiebreak after Świątek moved to within two points of victory after a superb volley down the stretch, this time winning three points in a row to clinch victory.
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Futterman: The Australian Open women’s semi-final, Madison Keys against Iga Świątek in a deciding tie-break. A match point saved. The outcome is uncertain until the final ball. A player winning a monumental match while on her way to fulfilling a life mission. All of this is done and dusted in a tense knot of two hours and 35 minutes.
James Hansen: Aryna Sabalenka (1) against Marta Kostyuk (24)Madrid Open quarter-final
Two tie-breaks. Kostyuk is getting even closer so far, as she has tended to do against Sabalenka lately. The rain drama, Sabalenka refusing to serve because she feared she would double fault and Kostyuk asking how the chair umpire allowed her to get away with it. The way Sabalenka kept her composure in the restart.
Favorite match
Eccleshare: Elena Rybakina (12) against Iga Świątek (5), round of 16 at Roland-Garros
Świątek gets the better of Elena Rybakina in their fourth round match at Roland Garros was thrilling from start to finish. Rybakina won eight of the first nine matches against the three-time defending champion and looked poised for a resounding victory.
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But Świątek then recalled why she hadn’t lost a match at Roland Garros in four years, digging in to finally win 7-5 in the third. The WTA Tour stars haven’t faced each other often enough in major tournaments in recent years, but 2025 has corrected that to some extent.
Futterman: Aryna Sabalenka (1) against Coco Gauff (2), Roland-Garros final
There’s something about watching two players compete, their own brains and gusts of wind at the same time. And then Gauff tried to serve during the match, throwing 6o mph serves right over the net that somehow were good enough to scramble Sabalenka’s already scrambled brain a little more.
This led to the ultimate Sabalenka sour grapes press conferencewhich Gauff deconstructed during his own press conference. A perfect end to a wild and wildly entertaining afternoon in Paris.
Hansen: Maya Joint vs. Alexandra Eala (Q)Eastbourne Open final
Two emerging talents in a tournament final, match points saved and a decisive tie-break that saw them both raise their level as it ebbed and flowed.
The most memorable shot
Eccleshare: Karolína Muchová against Clara Tausonsemi-final of the Dubai Tennis Championships
Matt doesn’t remember the shooting.
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Hansen: Madison Keys (19) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (1)Australian Open final
This Keys forehand isn’t really the best shot of the year, but I’m picking it as memorable because it falls into my favorite tennis shot category: “It looks normal to the naked eye, it’s actually not from this planet.” »
Story of the year
Eccleshare: Amanda Anisimova’s season was quite unusual, but beat Świątek in US Open quarter-finalless than two months later losing 6-0, 6-0 to the same player in the Wimbledon finalwas truly extraordinary.
The redemption story is an overused sports cliché, but it was nothing short of a landmark example, and the energy at Arthur Ashe Stadium that day matched what Anisimova had just accomplished.
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Futterman: Must be Anisimova. She went from outside the top 300, losing in Wimbledon qualifying, to the Wimbledon final and the US Open final, and thus ranked in the top five.
Add to that that she took a six-month break from playing in 2023 to rebalance her relationship with the sport and it makes for an incredible story.
Hansen: The cohort of players who burst into the wider tennis consciousness and, in doing so, became advertisements for the depth and importance of the lower echelons of professional tennis. Victoria Mboko, Alexandra Eala, Tereza Valentová and Janice Tjen have all achieved incredible things, from Eala’s stunning run at the Miami Open to Mboko’s title at the Canadian Open. What set them all up for success were absurd winning records on the World Tennis Tour, proving once again that winning can become a habit at any level.
Strangest moment
Eccleshare: The referee had to tell Wimbledon fans not to open champagne bottles when a player is about to serve during Anisimova’s match against Dalma Gálfi. The strange thing is that, for Wimbledon, this is actually not such a strange request.
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Futterman: During the final of the Canadian Open, Naomi Osaka was on her way to her first title in forever. Then she froze at the start of the second set, and Mboko, teenager and heroine of the public, rode on the emotions of her supporters – and her run to the final in which she had beaten three Grand Slam champions – only to eliminate a fourth and confine Osaka to second place in the process.
Hansen: The angry, expletive-laden “handshake” of Maria Sakkari and Yulia Putintseva at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany.
The worst moment
Eccleshare: Jelena Ostapenko accuses Taylor Townsend of having ‘no education’” after losing to the American in the second round of the US Open. Ostapenko showed little contrition at first and doubled down on her comments on social media before belatedly apologize – while failing to mention Townsend in this apology.
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The incident fundamentally changed Ostapenko’s position in the sport.
Futterman: Mirra Andreeva shouting at her mother during her The combustion of Roland-Garros against Loïs Boissonwhich proved to be the first of several difficult matches for the teenager as she adjusts to the pressure of being a favorite.
Hansen: The succession of moments where WTA Tour players have reported harassment and stalking, a problem that remains intrinsic to tennis and constitutes one of the sport’s greatest challenges.
Best quote
Eccleshare: “Am I a good liar? Oh my God, I didn’t know how to play poker.” — Świątek, during a press conference at Roland-Garros.
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Before meeting Rybakina in Paris, Świątek was unsure whether she would play her role or Ostapenko, Świątek’s sworn enemy in tennis who beat her six times out of six. When asked who she would prefer to play, Świątek tried to keep a straight face while saying she had no preference as to which opponent she faced. She couldn’t do it for long.
Futterman: “I would like to thank myself.” — Andreeva, after winning the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Hansen: “I’m sitting here.” — Gauff, asked about Sabalenka’s claim that another player beat her in the French Open final.
This article was originally published in Athletics.
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