Aryna Sabalenka wins second consecutive WTA Player of the Year award appeared first on Clutch Points. Add ClutchPoints as Favorite source by clicking here.
World No. 1 WTA Aryna Sabalenka has landed in elite company after enjoying a dominant tennis season in 2025. After receiving her second consecutive Player of the Year award on Monday, Sabalenka joined Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek, the only consecutive female winners in the last 25 years.
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The Belarus native received nearly 80 percent of the votes from a panel of media members to take the top spot. This year, Sabalenka won the US Open and reached the final of two other Grand Slam tournaments, the Australian Open and the French Open.
Sabalenka was also the leader in women’s tennis in match wins with a 63-12 record, in titles with four and in finals with nine. His achievements earned him a record prize of $15 million.
In tournaments she came close to winning, Sabalenka finished second behind Americans Madison Keys in January and Coco Gauff in June. She also fell short in the Wimbledon semifinals to Amanda Anisimova in July before she was able to get her revenge in September, beating Anisimova to defend her US Open title.
The 27-year-old also received a trophy for finishing the season ranked first at the year-end WTA Finals. She got off to a great start to the tournament with her world-class performance against No. 8 Jasmine Paolini, beating the Italian star in just over an hour with a 6-3, 6-1 victory.
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However, Sabalenka was also caught up in controversy during the WTA season. She projected her frustration at having lost the Roland-Garros final against Gauff, her opponent, but Sabalenka later apologized for her comments.
“I wanted to apologize and make sure she knew that she absolutely deserved to win the tournament and that I respected her. It was never my intention to attack her,” Sabalenka said in June. “I was super emotional and not very smart at that press conference. I’m not necessarily proud of what I did. It took me a while to come back to it, approach it with open eyes and understand. I realized a lot about myself.”
Despite the difficult period, Sabalenka ultimately finished the year on top and in the midst of the prime of her career.
