Aryna Sabalenka wins second WTA Player of the Year award in a row appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

WTA World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has landed in elite company after having a dominant tennis season in 2025. After being awarded her second straight Player of the Year award on Monday, Sabalenka joined Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek as the only back-to-back female winners in the last 25 years.

The Belarus native earned nearly 80% of the vote from a panel of media members to take the top spot. This year, Sabalenka won the US Open and reached the finals of two other Grand Slame tournaments, the Australian and French Opens.

Sabalenka was also the women’s tennis leader in match wins with a record of 63-12, titles with four, and finals appearances with nine. Her achievements netted her a tour-record $ 15 million in prize money.

In the tournaments she came close to winning, Sabalenka was a runner-up to Americans Madison Keys in January and Coco Gauff in June. She also fell short in the semifinal round of Wimbledon 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 was also presented with a trophy for finishing the season at No.1 at the year-end WTA Finals. She had a hot start to the tournament with her world-class display against No. 8 Jasmine Paolini, taking down the Italian star in just over an hour with a 6-3, 6-1 victory.

Sabalenka also got caught up in controversy during the WTA season, however. She projected her frustration over losing the French Open final at Gauff, her opponent, but Sabalenka later apologized for her comments.

“I wanted to apologize and make sure she knew she absolutely deserved to win the tournament and that I respect her. I never intended to attack her,” Sabalenka said in June. “I was super emotional and not very smart at that press conference. I’m not necessarily proud for what I did. It took me a while to revisit it, to approach it with open eyes and understand. I realized a lot about myself.”

Despite the rough patch, Sabalenka ultimately ended the year on top and in the midst of the peak of her career.