Tennis star Aryna Sabalenka has done it again, with the world No. 1 taking home the WTA Player of the Year award for a second straight season on Monday — becoming just the seventh woman to earn the honor back-to-back.
Sabalenka won Player of the Year in dominant fashion, garnering nearly 80% of the media vote after leading the 2025 WTA Tour in wins, titles, and finals appearances — all while racking up a record $15 million in prize money.
The 27-year-old spent the entire year as the sport's No. 1 player, all while reaching three of the four Grand Slam finals en route to winning the 2025 US Open.
After an elite season, US rising star Amanda Anisimova won the WTA Most Improved Player honor for reaching a career-first two Grand Slam finals while jumping from No. 34 to No. 4 in the rankings.
Following her own breakout 2025 campaign, 19-year-old Canadian talent No. 18 Vicky Mboko took home Newcomer of the Year, with Swiss No. 11 Belinda Bencic earning Comeback Player of the Year after returning from pregnancy in stellar form.
The world's top duo of Czechia's Katerina Siniakova and US standout Taylor Townsend also capped their 2025 season with hardware, earning the sport's Doubles Team of the Year.
World No. 5 Elena Rybakina lifted her first-ever WTA Finals trophy on Saturday, when the 2022 Wimbledon champ upset No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets 6-3, 7-6(0) to close out the 2025 tennis calendar in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The 26-year-old Kazakhstan star — who notably was the final player in the eight-athlete field to secure her tournament spot — capped her run on a winning tear, taking down No. 2 Iga Świątek, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, and No. 6 Jessica Pegula en route to the 2025 title.
"It's been an incredible week. I honestly didn't expect any result, and to go so far is just incredible," Rybakina said following her championship-winning match.
Handing Sabalenka just her second-ever defeat in the final match of the WTA Finals — and doing so with just the third dropped tie-break in Sabalenka's 2025 season — Rybakina emerged from the end-of-year round-robin tournament without a single loss — earning her a women's tennis-record $5.23 million winner's check.
"She played incredible," Sabalenka said of her opponent, after Rybakina scored an impressive eight aces against the world No. 1 in the clash. "I feel like I did my best today. It didn't work, but I think so many things I have to be proud of. And yeah, I'm leaving this tournament without any disappointment."
Upsets are stealing the show at the 2025 WTA Finals, with world No. 5 Jessica Pegula taking down reigning champion No. 3 Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2 on Sunday before No. 6 Elena Rybakina topped No. 2 Iga Świątek 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 to open Monday's action at the eight-player, season-ending tennis tournament.
Gauff's well-documented serve struggles plagued Sunday's showdown, with the 2025 French Open winner hitting 17 double faults — including three consecutive misses — en route to the second-set tiebreak.
"Coco is a great champion, great competitor, good friend, so it's always tough playing her," Pegula said afterwards. "I don't think there's any secrets with this group of girls here."
Rybakina then continued the streak of WTA Finals upsets by storming past Świątek on Monday morning, winning 12 out of the last 13 games to humble the 2025 Wimbledon champ after Świątek cruised past No. 7 Madison Keys 6-1, 6-2 in Saturday's round-robin group stage opener.
Other top seeds rolled in their first tests, with each four-player group's top two finishers advancing to Friday's semifinals.
No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka dominated No. 8 Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-1 on Sunday, with the 2025 US Open winner later saying, "I take this tournament as a regular tournament that I have to win five matches if I want to win the title. So I'm just trying to bring my best tennis and fight for every point."
How to watch the 2025 WTA Finals
Round-robin play continues through Thursday, before the semifinalists battle on Friday for a spot in Saturday's championship match.
All 2025 WTA Finals matches air live on the Tennis Channel.
Tennis governing body finalized its elite 2025 WTA Finals field on Friday, with the sport's eight top-ranked players gearing up to kick off the tournament in Saudi Arabia this weekend, each aiming to claim the the final major trophy of the 2025 season.
World No. 6 Elena Rybakina became the last player to qualify for the Finals, with the 26-year-old Kazakhstani star clinching her spot by reaching the Japan Open semifinals last week — beating out No. 9 Mirra Andreeva in the race to reach Riyadh.
Rybakina joins the previously qualified finalists No. 8 Jasmine Paolini, No. 7 Madison Keys, No. 5 Jessica Pegula, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 2 Iga Świątek, and No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Capping a banner year for the States, US stars populate a full half of the end-of-season tournament, with Keys, Pegula, Gauff, and WTA Finals debutant Anisimova comprising the largest US contingent at the competition in more than 20 years.
Gauff enters the round-robin tournament as its reigning champion, with 2023 winner Świątek as the only other title-holder in contention this year.
Where to watch the 2025 WTA Finals
The 2025 WTA Finals start this Saturday and run through November 8th.
Live coverage of the tournament will air on the Tennis Channel.
World No. 3 Coco Gauff won her 11th career WTA title over the weekend, taking down fellow US star No. 5 Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 to become the 2025 Wuhan Open champion on Sunday.
With the victory, Gauff also is the first US player to lift the Wuhan Open trophy since Venus Williams in 2015.
Gauff now holds a perfect 9-0 record in hardcourt tournament finals, lifting her first WTA 1000 trophy of 2025 and claiming her second title of the year alongside her French Open victory in June — all without needing a single third set throughout her five-match run in Wuhan.
"Winning every match in straight sets, I don't know if I've done that before on a title run," the 21-year-old said afterwards. "I just felt like I was really proud of what I accomplished this week, regardless of the result today."
Despite the Sunday stumble, Pegula also saw significant success at the tournament, handing world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka — who won the last three editions of the competition — her first-ever loss in Wuhan on Saturday.
Even more, Pegula clinched the three-set semifinal by snapping Sabalenka's dominant streak of winning 19 straight tiebreaks.
Overall, the weekend furthered a dominant 2025 WTA campaign for US tennis stars, with a US-based athlete featuring in every Grand Slam final this year.
US women also top the current WTA rankings, with Gauff and Pegula joined by No. 4 Amanda Anisimova and No. 7 Madison Keys in the sport's Top 10.
Additionally, those four contenders have all booked spots in the 2025 WTA Finals, guaranteeing that half of the eight-player field will hail from the States when the tennis season's finale kicks off next month.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka keeps pushing, as the world No. 16 tennis star followed up her blockbuster comeback run at the 2025 US Open with a first-round win at the Wuhan Open this week.
The Japanese fan favorite battled back from a first-set loss to defeat 2021 US Open finalist and current world No. 27 Leylah Fernandez 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 late Monday night, just weeks after suffering an unexpected exit in the first-round of the 2025 China Open.
Monday's Round of 64 win marked Osaka's seventh come-from-behind victory this year, tying her own single-season comeback record.
Osaka still has hills to climb against other top players in Wuhan, including the likes of No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who will return to action early Wednesday morning in her first competitive match since her successful US Open title defense last month.
Also in the mix at the 2025 Wuhan Open are No. 2 Iga Świątek, No. 3 Coco Gauff, and No. 6 Jessica Pegula, with Świątek already cruising through her Round of 32 hurdle in straight sets early Tuesday morning.
Notably, after powering through a lingering calf injury to win the 2025 China Open on Sunday, US star No. 4 Amanda Anisimova withdrew from the Wuhan tournament to recover and gear up for her first-ever WTA Finals next month.
How to watch the 2025 Wuhan Open
The 2025 Wuhan Open resumes at 11 PM ET on Tuesday, with Pegula, Gauff, Sabalenka, and Osaka all facing their Round of 32 opponents before dawn on Wednesday.
Live coverage of the WTA 1000 tournament airs on the Tennis Channel.
World No. 3 tennis star Coco Gauff is through to the semifinals in Beijing, downing Germany's No. 66 Eva Lys in straight sets on Thursday to continue her title defense at the 2025 China Open.
With the quarterfinal win, Gauff booked her first WTA semifinals spot in nearly four months, last appearing the late rounds during her 2025 French Open championship run in June.
The 21-year-old overcame several obstacles in her current quest to become the first-ever back-to-back women's champion at the China Open, including a pair of heated three-set battles against Canada's No. 25 Leylah Fernandez and Switzerland's No. 16 Belinda Bencic in the Round of 32 and 16, respectively.
Not all top-ranked WTA stars were as lucky, however, as No. 2 Iga Świątek exited the Round of 16 after ceding a final-set bagel to No. 17 Emma Navarro on Wednesday.
Gauff and Navarro aren't the only US stars showing out on the 2025 China Open court, as No. 4 Amanda Anisimova punched her semis ticket by ousting Italy's No. 8 Jasmine Paolini on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Navarro will meet No. 7 Jessica Pegula in an all-US quarterfinal battle on Friday — guaranteeing that three of the four tournament semifinalists will hail from the US.
Along with her China Open success, Gauff also secured her spot in the 2025 WTA Finals this week, marking her return as the end-of-season tournament's reigning champion while also becoming the youngest player to qualify for the event in four straight years since Maria Sharapova in 2007.
Considered the most prestigious tennis event except for the four Grand Slams, the eight-player 2025 WTA Finals will kick off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on November 1st, with Świątek and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka also taking part.
How to watch the 2025 China Open
The 2025 China Open quarterfinals will wrap early Friday morning, with England's No. 81 Sonay Kartal facing Czechia's No. 27 Linda Noskova at 3 AM ET before Navarro takes on Pegula at 6 AM ET.
Friday's winners will contend with each other alongside Gauff and Anisimova in Saturday's semifinals.
All tournament matches will stream live on the Tennis Channel.
As the 2025 tennis calendar hits the home stretch, the WTA's finest will hit the hardcourt at the 1000-level China Open this week — with invites to November's WTA Finals on the line.
Top US players including world No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, and No. 7 Jessica Pegula will begin their 2025 China Open campaigns when the tournament's Round of 64 starts late Thursday night.
Also aiming for the lion's share of the competition's nearly $9 million prize pool — including a winner's check over $1.1 million — are 2023 China Open champ No. 2 Iga Świątek, 19-year-old rising star No. 23 Victoria Mboko, and recent US Open semifinalist and fan favorite No. 14 Naomi Osaka.
The world No. 1, however, will miss this edition of the tournament, as back-to-back US Open champ Aryna Sabalenka withdrew due to "a minor injury" earlier this month.
As for the competition's reigning champion, Gauff will kick off both her title defense and the Round of 64 on Thursday, following up her 2024 success by winning her second career Grand Slam at the 2025 French Open in June.
"I think winning the French Open helped me take that weight off," Gauff told reporters about the pressure of defending her 2024 trophy. "I definitely feel a lot lighter. It feels like a practice tournament."
How to watch the 2025 China Open
The Round of 64 at the 2025 China Open kicks off with Gauff taking on No. 89 Kamilla Rakhimova at 11 PM ET on Thursday.
All tournament matches will stream live on the Tennis Channel.
Aryna Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam of the 2025 WTA season on Saturday, with the world No. 1 defeating then-No. 9 Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6(3) to claim the US Open trophy — the final Slam of the year.
"To bring the fight and be able to handle my emotions the way I did in this final, it means a lot," Sabalenka said following the match. "I'm super proud right now of myself."
After successfully defending her 2024 US Open title — and claiming tennis's top 2025 paycheck in the process — Sabalenka is now the tournament's first repeat champion since 2014, when Serena Williams claimed a third straight trophy at the New York Slam.
The 27-year-old narrowly avoided a Slam-less year, going without a trophy despite reaching both the Australian Open and French Open finals as well as the Wimbledon semifinals.
"I think because of the finals earlier this season, this one felt different," Sabalenka said. "All of those lessons are making me tougher, tougher, and tougher."
As for Anisimova, the US rising star added a new career-high WTA ranking alongside her second straight Grand Slam final appearance on her 2025 resume, rising to world No. 4 in Monday's update.
Also earning a noticeable bump on Monday was Japanese star Naomi Osaka, who clocked in at No. 14 after a stellar Grand Slam comeback run to the 2025 US Open semifinals.
The Naomi Osaka comeback tour at the 2025 US Open has ended, as the two-time New York Grand Slam champion and world No. 24 star ceded her Thursday semifinal to No. 9 Amanda Anisimova, who battled back to claim the 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3 victory.
"Naomi is playing amazing tennis," the 23-year-old said of Osaka's US Open run. "She's back where she belongs. I told her I'm so proud of her after having a baby and playing at this level — it's insane."
With her Thursday win, Anisimova is now the only player to ever defeat Osaka in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, semifinal, or final — ending the Japanese fan-favorite's 13-0 run in the later rounds of tennis's major tournaments.
Anisimova's US Open success is even more impressive considering the result of her first-ever Grand Slam final — a brutal 6-0, 6-0 loss at Wimbledon in July.
In a massive turnaround, Anisimova handed No. 2 Iga Świątek, the 2025 Wimbledon champion, a redemptive straight-set loss in Wednesday's US Open quarterfinals en route to reaching this weekend's championship match.
Anisimova's victory means that a US player has now competed in every women's Grand Slam final dating back to the 2024 US Open, extending the country's championship-match streak to five straight Slams.
With even more history on the line, the US rising star now has a second shot at joining No. 6 Madison Keys and No. 3 Coco Gauff in hoisting a 2025 Grand Slam trophy for the US — a feat not accomplished by any single country since Serena Williams won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon in 2015.
How to watch the 2025 US Open championship match
Just like Keys and Gauff, Anisimova will have to defeat Aryna Sabalenka to claim her own 2025 Grand Slam trophy — with the hard-hitting US finalist holding a 6-3 all-time record against the world No. 1 player, most recently downing the 2024 US Open champion in this year's Wimbledon semifinals.
Anisimova will battle Sabalenka in for the 2025 US Open crown on Saturday, with live coverage of the championship match beginning at 4 PM ET on ESPN.