WTA Rankings Year End Update: Sabalenka finishes in shocking position, Swiatek and Gauff closely follow as Rybakina moves up after WTA Finals triumph

The WTA season has come to a halt. After an exhilarating 11 months, all the biggest rewards and accolades have been dished out to a variety of star tennis players. With this, ranking points have been added and swiped from the WTA rankings, leaving the end of year tally for 2025.

Top three still in command

Once more, it is Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff at the summit of women’s tennis. Sabalenka will sit top of the tree for a second consecutive year.

Numerous big final defeats including two Grand Slam finals and the most recent WTA Finals defeat to Elena Rybakina have cost her from making more progress. However, this consistency at the top has seen her secure the number one slot after one point feeling her rivals breathe down the back of her neck.

This could have changed at the US Open, but Sabalenka triumphed over her on court challengers. Swiatek has endured an up and down season. Titles at Wimbledon and Cincinnati have put a positive twist on what was a slow start to the year which saw her drop down to eighth in the world at one point.
Gauff has also endured her struggles. A scintillating clay swing which culminated with the Roland Garros title set her up for a blockbuster end to the year.

This would not be the case. Struggles with her serve led to many tussles on the court, with early exits blinding her grass and North American hardcourt swing. A title in the China Open was intwined with her getting back to her best, but she was unable to find this in the WTA Finals. She and Swiatek both failed to progress out of the group phase, abruptly ending their high and low campaigns.

Huge rise for Anisimova, Rybakina sends warning sign for 2026

Very few people would have predicted the rise Amanda Anisimova would have enjoyed this year. At the start of the year, she was not even seeded for Grand Slam events. She now goes into them as one of the strong favourites. Two Grand Slam finals, two WTA 1000 titles and a WTA Finals semi-final to cap the year off showcases the leaps and bounds the American has made this year.

The same could be said for Rybakina, although she left it very late before making her mark. A stodgy season left her not even in a qualifying place for the WTA Finals. Nevertheless, a late surge in the Asian swing accumulated her enough points to sneak into the event. From then, she was unbeatable. The Kazakh added 1,500 points to her ranking as she finishes the year fifth in the world.

A brace of Americans follow her in the form of Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys. Pegula was the loser in this late Rybakina purple patch, moving down a place while Keys never found her best tennis after a romantic Australian Open run. It is remarkably tight between Keys, Jasmine Paolini in eighth and Mirra Andreeva in ninth, with just 16 ranking points splitting them. Paolini’s late season success saw her confirm another top 10 finish.

For Andreeva, it could have been much different. A brace of WTA 1000 titles pushed her high up the rankings. Unfortunately, she ran out of steam at the end of the campaign and climaxes in ninth. Completing the top 10 is Ekaterina Alexandrova. After only just making her top 10 debut, the Russian has managed to keep her place amongst the coveted top players.

Young stars shine as Osaka enjoys resurgence

Belinda Bencic in 11th is closely followed by two breakout stars Clara Tauson and Linda Noskova. The pair of highly talented youngsters have played some sublime tennis this year, seeing them mix it with the best.

Elina Svitolina has managed to rise back up into 14th, while Emma Navarro has dropped out of the top 10 a year from sitting inside it, culminating in 15th. While that may be slightly disappointing, 16th for Naomi Osaka is a sign that she is closing in on her best tennis once more. A Canadian Open final defeat closely followed by a semi-final at the US Open reveals the old Osaka is closer than ever.

A French Open quarter-final has seen Liudmila Samsonova rise to 17th, just ahead of Victoria Mboko. The 19-year-old started the year outside the top 300 but after triumphing in Montreal was seeded for the US Open in an extraordinary rise. Karolina Muchova and Elise Mertens wrap up the top 20.

Huge rises and demises

2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova is the big loser in 2025. Injuries plagued her first six months ahead of failing to defend a sizeable chunk of her points at SW19. She plummeted down the rankings sits in 65th. However, success in an upcoming WTA 125 event could see her climb back into the top 60.

Daria Kasatkina has also suffered greatly. As well as the Czech star, they both finished 2024 inside the top 10. Lack of form portrayed by the Aussie on court has seen her slip down to 37th in the world. The pair are also joined by Zheng Qinwen.

The Chinese athlete picked up an elbow injury ahead of Wimbledon. Since then, she has missed a sizeable amount of tennis with a return to the court proving to be short lived. She finished in 24th, one place ahead of Paula Badosa in 25th who has also had her struggles off court.

As for risers, Emma Raducanu has made a triumphant return to the top 32, ending in 29th and heavily poised to be a seed for the Australian Open. This could also be the case for Maya Joint in her home event. She has risen outside the top 100 to 32nd with two titles on the WTA Circuit helping dearly.

17-year-old Iva Jovic is the youngest player inside the top 100. She ends the year in 35th while a French Open semi-final for Lois Boisson in her maiden Grand Slam event leaves her in 36th. Alexandra Eala completes the top 50 after enjoying a breakout year. She has made history for her country in the process, becoming the first tennis player from the Philippines to rank in the top 100, let alone top 50.