The 2025 WTA season is pretty much all over and it’s time to reflect on another eventful year with multiple storylines. While men’s tennis is very much a two-horse race with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner dividing up all of the biggest trophies, the women’s game is in a different place with a lot more contenders vying for the major titles.

Top of the pile once again is Aryna Sabalenka. The fact that many will consider 2025 to not be a very good year for her says a lot about her position in the game. She won 4 titles including a slam and two 1000 level events, made two other slam finals and has a lead of over 2,500 points over world number 2 Iga Swiatek and more than 4,000 points ahead of world number 3, Coco Gauff. The fact is Sabalenka has put herself into a position where if she does NOT win the title at a tournament she enters, it is considered a failure. And 2025 has certainly see her have a bit of a finals issue. Losses in the Australian Open, French Open and WTA finals are the three biggest defeats, but Sabalenka also lost in the finals of Indian Wells to Mirra Andreeva and Stuttgart to Jelena Ostapenko. Her graceless response at Roland Garros has been seized on by media and many tennis watchers too, and combined with her loud grunts, she has built up some negative perception. However, for me, I really appreciate her open nature. If she’s pissed, she shows it. If she’s happy, you can see that huge smile. She is always going to be a bit of a hot head I think, despite her claiming to have learned a lot. The tiger remains! Two years as year end world number 1 – and a position held for all 52 weeks is some achievement. Not bad for a year with a number of high profile losses.

Iga Swiatek was heading for a terrible year going into the grass season. No Roland Garros title, indeed no clay titles … actually no titles at all. Even worse, she hadn’t even made a final! As someone who has always claimed to not be able to play on grass, some thought Iga might fire her team or take a long break. Instead, she actually seemed more relaxed and after a good run to the final at Bad Homburg, stormed to the Wimbledon title with a 6-0, 6-0 beatdown of hapless Amanda Anisimova who was tired and overwhelmed in her first grand slam final. It had been a baking hot summer and the courts clearly suited Iga, but to be honest, she just looked confident and on it. Notably she won junior Wimbledon after she lost junior Roland Garros and she has said she played angry because of that. Perhaps getting bagelled by Sabalenka on her way out of Roland Garros riled her up? Maybe a year of being written off and therefore low expectations freed her up? However, despite that fantastic achievement, Swiatek has had some bruising losses this year. Once her game goes off the rails, she can lose big. That bagel from Sabalenka at Roland Garros. At the WTA finals she won the first set over Rybakina then lost the next two 6-1, 6-0. She got bagelled in the third set of Beijing by Emma Navarro. Jasmine Paolini thumped her6-1, 6-2 in Wuhan. Coco Gauff beat her 6-1, 6-1 in Madrid. Oh and of course, Jelena Ostapenko beat her twice more to take their laughably hilarious head to head 6-0 to Penko! So a real roller coaster for Swiatek – but I doubt she would trade that Wimbledon crown for anything!

Definitely one of the funniest moments of the year was Iga being asked in press at Roland Garros about who she would rather play – Elena Rybakina or Jelena Ostapenko.

It was definitely a good year for the American women. Coco Gauff solidified her place at the top of the game with that Roland Garros win and adding the Wuhan title. Her serve is looking as fragile as ever and the fact she still is at world number 3 and won a grand slam says so much about her resilience. If Coco fixes her technical issues, she could really dominate as she is probably the best competitor on the tour. Amanda Anisimova is possibly the story of the year. She began the year losing to Emma Raducanu at the Australian Open and ended at world number 4 having made the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open. Her timing on her backhand especially is brilliant but she showed real resilience to take a mental break from the game and come back playing terrific tennis. If she can maintain her level, her peak is one of the highest on tour. Madison Keys‘ Australian Open victory was probably the feelgood story of the year. Keys has always been one of the hardest hitting players and a consistent presence late in slams for years, but at almost 30, it seemed slam glory had passed her by. She began the year like a dream – winning Brisbane and then running the field at the Australian Open beating Collins, Svitolina, Rybakina, Swiatek and Sabalenka. Backing it up in 2026 will be tough, but good to see one of the purest hitters finally win a slam, and in highly impressive style. Jessica Pegula is such a solid player, she is easy to overlook. She doesn’t have the power of Keys or Anisimova, she’s not the athlete Gauff is, but Pegula is a smart player with a terrific fighting spirit. I do enjoy her presence on the tour – Jess seems like such a grown-up! She had three notable matches against Aryna Sabalenka that were among my favourites of the year – a terrific semifinal at the US Open, a hard fought win in Wuhan and another titanic tussle at the WTA finals. (The Miami final win for Sabalenka was a bit more inevitable!) Pegula has been a reliable top ten player for a number of years now, but can she even win that elusive slam?

Long considered one of the most talented players on tour, Elena Rybakina had a curious 2025. It began with drama – her coach, the mouthy Stefano Vukov was suspended from the tour after allegations of him mistreating her. She brought legend of the game, Goran Ivanisevic onboard and many thought this could be the start of something good. However, Rybakina wanted Vukov back and so Ivanisevic only lasted til the end of the Australian Open. Like Swiatek, Rybakina did not win a title for the first few months of the year, but broke her duck in Strasbourg just before the French Open. At Roland Garros she was absolutely walloping Iga Swiatek for a set and a half, but as happened to her so often this year, when it got tight, she crumbled. However, her lovely smooth power game was starting to come together. She ended the year taking the WTA finals crown with a perfect display of the best of Rybakina – accurate and fast serves, groundstrokes into the corners and that ice cool demeanour. Poor Aryna Sabalenka was once again left frustrated but Rybakina can do that to anyone. For her, it is a case of how long she can keep it going as her best tennis is possibly the best on the tour.

Here Come the Girls!

2025 has also seen a wave of new young players start to make their mark. Mirra Andreeva leads the way and with back to back 1000 level titles in Dubai and Indian Wells, she looked all set. The end of the year showed signs of perhaps the stresses of those expectation on the 18-year-old. She missed out on the WTA finals by a whisker but will want to re-establish herself in 2026.

The biggest splash was probably made by Victoria Mboko, whose Canadian Open title was one of the biggest surprises but also a glorious home win! They even interrupted the men’s final going on in Toronto when the Canadian crowd started cheering at the news she had won the final. Mboko took down a murderer’s row of grand slam champions – Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Naomi Osaka in the final. At 19 years of age, her main goal is to cement her place in the top 20 as she had a nasty wrist injury that led to a string of first round losses before rebounding to win the title in Hong Kong to end her year on a high.

Alexandra Eala has a massive following as the only tennis player from the Philippines. At 20 years old she is yet to win a title but she has had some epic matches – notably beating Ostapenko, Keys, Badosa and Iga Swiatek in Miami. Things have tailed off a bit later in the year, but one to watch.

Maya Joint (19) is an American-born Aussie with bright red hair and pale skin who speaks in an American accent. She also usually wears super cool shades!Joint picked up 250 titles in Rabat and Eastbourne this year and is looking to be seeded at her home slam. She has a nice complete game and a good temperament and could well be pushing into the top 20 sooner rather than later. I just hope she has heavy duty sunscreen!

Iva Jovic (17) was a top rated junior and her ranking benefitted hugely from the 500 points from the notoriously WTA125 level field at the post US Open event in Guadalajara. It’s a fun event but beating Kawa, Osorio, Jimenez, Bartunkova, and Arango in the final is a pretty soft field. She’s not done too much since – and has gone back to playing 125s, but she is a composed player who will look to strengthen up her game.

Tereza Valentova (18) is the latest Czech player to make the breakthrough. She made the semifinal of her home tournament in Prague and also the final in Osaka. Valentova is a lot more overtly aggressive than the usually laid back Czechs and certainly goes for her shots. Already nicknamed Talentova! She could be one to watch in 2026.

Janice Tjen (aka Asian Barty) is an Indonesian 23 year old but oh boy, that Ash Barty style! From the cap to the backhand. Obviously not quite at Ash’s level yet but she just won her first title in Chennai, and she’s a lot of fun to watch.

Japanese player Aoi Ito (21) is like the second coming of Hsieh Su-Wei! A unique player who looks like a puff of wind could take her out, but she plays double handed on both sides and is the very definition of ‘tricky’! She has troubled a few top players this year and it will be interesting to see if she can push on in 2026.

17-year-old Austrian Lilli Tagger is coached by legend, Francesca Schiavone – and like her, Tagger has a one handed backhand. She swept to the Roland Garros junior title and then started working her way on the ITF tour. A run to the final of her first first WTA event – the 250 in Jiangxi – shows the 6 foot plus Tagger is definitely one to watch, even if it is very early days.

As well as these youngsters, slightly older young players Clara Tauson (22) and Linda Noskova (21) are knocking on the door of the top 10 at number 12 and 13 respectively in the rankings. Both have been on many people’s watch list for the last couple of year and showed good consistency this year. Belinda Bencic‘s return from maternity leave was a big success with her ending the year at number 11 in the rankings and two titles. Naomi Osaka seems to be heading in the right direction at number 16 but at 28 years old, there is still a question of how long a 4 time slam champion will want to grind out wins and not take the big titles. She made two finals this year but has still not won any titles since her maternity break. Jasmine Paolini has continued to defy those who thought her magical 2024 was a flash in the pan. Winning a doubles slam title at Roland Garros and doing the singles and doubles double at her home tournament in Rome was special. Plus she was once again the anchor of the Italian BJK Cup team who defended their title in 2025. It will be interesting to see if she plays as much doubles in 2026 as she definitely ran out of gas – and got ill – at the WTA finals and was not able to show her best in singles and in the doubles.

Checking in with my girls..

It’s been a less glittering year for my favourite players. Petra Kvitova came back but never really looked competitive. Ah Petra, we’ll always have Miami! Petra officially retired at the US Open having only won one match on her comeback. In happier news, baby number 2 is on the way! Barbora Krejcikova spent much of the year injured but returned with some great performances including a remarkable win over Taylor Townend at the US Open, and another doubles title with Katerina Siniakova. Unfortunately injury hit again in Asia and Krejcikova is once again on the rehab/comeback trail. My number 1 wish is for health for Krejcikova – and for that matter for all of the Czech ‘glass girls’ – Krejcikova , Vondrousova and Muchova.

A player I started following this year was Ekaterina Alexandrova. Ekat is a terrific ball striker, good server, moves pretty well. However she is not the most clutch player! I have lost count of the number of matches she has been ahead in but somehow lost. This year the final in Korea against Iga Swiatek was a classic example. Alexandrova also managed to blow 11 match points in the semifinals of S’Hertogenbosch against Elise Mertens who went on to win the title. She has been the nearly woman for a while, yet on her day can compete with the very best. I was therefore really pleased for her that she made it to the top 10 after a good run in Asia. At 31 years old, she’s been in and around the top 30 since 2019, and reminds me a bit of one of my old favourites, Elena Dementieva. A lot better on serve, but great ground strokes, and a challenge for all of the top players – but not quite in line for the biggest titles. Anyway, being an Ekat fan this year has been entertaining.

Katerina Siniakova continues to be the best doubles player in the world, scooping her fifth year end number 1 title. As well as the Australian Open crown with Taylor Townsend, Katka made the Wimbledon semifinals – while also winning her first ever mixed doubles slam – and the US Open finals. When her partner Townsend overtook her for the number 1 slot in the late summer, Siniakova called up some old friends and won Korea with Barbora Krejcikova and Wuhan with Storm Hunter to regain her rightful place at the top! After a good Asian swing, she also made it back to the top 50 in singles so a pretty good year for the only Czech who stays fit. (Apart from 21 year old Linda Noskova who is now Czech number 1 after a very solid season and has reached number 13 in the singles rankings.)

So, all in all another entertaining WTA season. The biggest titles were shared around while Aryna Sabalenka was the most consistent. Injury hit players like Zheng Qinwen and Barbora Krejcikova who were in the final 4 of the 2024 WTA finals but not able to make too much of an impression before injury forced them away again. The promising group of young players will be fun to watch, but it seems likely Sabalenka, Swiatek and Gauff aren’t going anywhere as the established top 3. Add in Anisimova, Pegula, Rybakina and the 2026 season should be another competitive one.