Tennis 2025: Alcaraz vs Sinner, Sabalenka Reigns and the Figures of the Year

The 2025 Tennis Season: An Unforgettable Year

The 2025 professional tennis season has come to an end, and what a year we’ve had. From the dominance of superstars like Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Aryna Sabalenka, to the continued emergence of players like Amanda Anisimova and Ben Shelton, and the return to the top of Naomi Osaka, this season has had something for everyone. Alcaraz and Sinner dominated the ATP circuit, splitting the four Grand Slam titles, but there was much more parity among the women of the WTA Tour. Four different players – Madison Keys, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and Sabalenka – won the Slams. Throughout the year, both on the ATP and WTA, there were several surprise winners and captivating narratives, making this season a very memorable one. Alofoke Deportes presents the award winners of the year, selected by the team of experts.

ATP Player of the Year: Carlos Alcaraz

The 2025 ATP season was defined almost exclusively by two men and their rivalry: Alcaraz and Sinner. While both stood out from the rest, with a considerable point difference between number 2, Sinner, and number 3, Alexander Zverev, the gap between the two greats was minimal. Alcaraz won the French Open and the US Open, and finished the year in the number 1 position for the second time in his career, while Sinner prevailed at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, finishing the year with the title at the ATP Finals for the second consecutive season. The difference was so small that a tie was declared. However, Alcaraz, with six additional titles this year, including three Masters 1000 events, took the prize. Alcaraz, who also leads the head-to-head lifetime record, defeated Sinner in four of their six 2025 meetings.

It doesn’t matter if you think Alcaraz or Sinner deserve this completely arbitrary distinction, one thing is for sure: they are the best players in the world and should continue their collective brilliance in 2026.

Alofoke Deportes

Even his colleagues at the top seemed to accept it.

WTA Player of the Year: Aryna Sabalenka

While there was little drama on the ATP side, at least in narrowing it down to two, there were a handful of women who were considered for the title this year. The majors were won by four different players, and Elena Rybakina closed out the year with the title at the WTA Finals, and others won multiple 1000-level tournaments and competed in the Slams. However, despite the equality at the top of the WTA, one woman was slightly ahead of the rest and was the unanimous choice for this award. Of course, that was world number 1, Sabalenka, who held the top spot throughout the season. She won the US Open, becoming the first woman since Serena Williams over a decade ago to repeat as champion, and also reached the finals of the Australian and French Opens, and the semi-finals of Wimbledon. Not to mention that she won three other titles in the year, including two at the 1000 level, and played a total of nine finals. Sabalenka was the favorite for the title in any tournament she participated in. For all those reasons, “she is the clear player of the year.” Even her opponents praised her performance this year.

Revelation Moment: Madison Keys, Australian Open

Keys, a prodigious talent who turned professional at 14, seemed destined to win a major title. And she came close. She reached her first Grand Slam semi-final in 2015 and was a runner-up at the 2017 US Open. But despite winning nine WTA titles and being a top-20 player, she couldn’t win when it mattered most.

Until this year, that is. Close to turning 30, Keys made a bold run at the Australian Open, defeating five seeded players, including world number 2 Swiatek in the semifinals and number 1 Sabalenka in the final. In the end, Keys lifted her first major trophy after an exciting three-set thriller, almost 16 years after turning professional and a decade after reaching her first semifinal.

Match of the Year: Alcaraz vs. Sinner, French Open Final

Was this in doubt? The first major final between the two emerging rivals lasted five hours and 29 minutes, making it the longest French Open final in history and the second longest in a Grand Slam. It also featured one of the most incredible comebacks of all time.

Sinner, playing only his second tournament after serving his three-month suspension, won the first marathon game in 12 minutes, and then largely stayed ahead as he won the first two sets. With Sinner on his way to his fourth Grand Slam title, and the first at Roland Garros, Alcaraz had other ideas. That’s where the magic happened. Raising his level and feeding off the noisy crowd, Alcaraz forced a fourth set and then fought off three championship points on his way to a decider. The momentum continued to shift in the final set, with the two exchanging one highlight-worthy point after another, before Alcaraz won in a tiebreak for the final score of 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2). It marked Alcaraz’s second consecutive French Open trophy and his fifth major title, but more than that, it solidified the legend of the Big Two and the rivalry that seems to shape the sport for years to come.

Most Improbable Victory: Valentin Vacherot, Shanghai

Arriving at the Masters 1000 level event, ranked number 204 in the world and as the ninth alternate for the qualifying draw, the 26-year-old player, who had only won one match on the ATP circuit in his career, needed a miracle just to be able to play in the tournament. But after a series of withdrawals, Vacherot entered the rankings and needed three sets in both matches to reach the main draw. Somehow, he found a way, and then he did the unthinkable. He defeated one seeded player after another, including Alexander Bublik in the second round, Holger Rune in the quarterfinals, and Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. And, as if that weren’t enough, he faced his cousin Arthur Rinderknech, then ranked number 40 and hardly considered a title contender before the tournament began, in the most improbable final. Vacherot ultimately won the family affair and became the first Monegasque player to win an ATP title, as well as the Masters champion with the lowest ranking in history. After the fairytale victory, which more than doubled his career earnings, Vacherot climbed in the rankings. Thanks to a quarter-final run at the Paris Masters, Vacherot finishes the season ranked number 31 and as a previously unknown figure who became a beloved figure in the sport.

Honorable Mentions

Victoria Mboko, Canadian Open. Taylor Townsend, US Open. Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash; Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend. Christian Harrison and Evan King

Comeback Player of the Year: Belinda Bencic

Perhaps the winner of the easiest and most obvious award on this list, Bencic returned to competitive tennis in October 2024, just six months after giving birth to her daughter Bella. Bencic, 28, played exclusively ITF and 125-level events for the rest of the year and then made her official return to the circuit in early 2025. It didn’t take her long to get back into the routine. Weeks after the start of the season, she reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, and followed that up by winning the title at the 500-level Abu Dhabi Open in February. At the end of the season, she had recorded a semi-final appearance at Wimbledon, for the first time in her career, and had won another title at the Pan Pacific Open in October. She started the year ranked number 489 and finished ranked number 11.

Amanda Anisimova had a breakthrough year, reaching the final at both Wimbledon and the US Open.

Most Improved Player: Amanda Anisimova

There are years of career, and then there’s what Anisimova did in 2025. A strong candidate for Player of the Year, as well as for the breakthrough moment and the stellar turn, Anisimova lived up to the high expectations placed on her as a junior. The 24-year-old American, who took an eight-month break from the sport in 2023 for her mental health, won the then-biggest title of her career at the Qatar Open level 1000 in February and entered the top 20 for the first time. But that was just the beginning. Anisimova found her rhythm on grass, reaching the final at the Queen’s Club and then achieving a memorable upset over Sabalenka in the Wimbledon semi-finals and reaching her first major final. She lost, surprisingly, to Swiatek, but got her revenge at the US Open. And in New York, Anisimova reached the final again. While she didn’t win the trophy, her ranking and profile continued to skyrocket. By the end of the year, she had won another level 1000 title at the China Open, qualified for the WTA Finals for the first time (where she reached the semi-finals) and now has a career-high ranking of number 4 in the world. What a year, indeed.

Honorable Mention: Learner Tien

It’s difficult to compare to what Anisimova did, but 19-year-old Tien also had a monumental season. Ranked number 121 in the world, the American went through qualifying to make his main draw debut at the Australian Open, and what a debut it was. In the second round, Tien defeated former world number 1 and 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev, winning the 10-point tiebreak in the fifth set. After defeating Corentin Moutet in the third round, Tien became the youngest male player to advance to the fourth round in Melbourne since Rafael Nadal in 2005. Tien would go on to defeat Zverev at the 2025 Mexican Open, becoming the youngest American man to win against a top-three player since 2001. Tien finished 2025 with his first ATP title at the Moselle Open and closed the season with a new career-high ranking of number 28.

The Most Challenging Players at This Age This Year: Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams

While not at the dominant level he once held, 38-year-old Djokovic is still undoubtedly the third-best male player in the world. Focusing most of his energy on the majors, hoping to achieve an elusive and record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title, Djokovic reached the semifinals in all four in 2025, but couldn’t decipher the puzzles that are Alcaraz and Sinner. Nonetheless, he won two titles this season, bringing his career total to an astounding 101. While he has been candid about the end of his career and has admitted how difficult it is to play against the Big Two, he wants to continue playing in 2026. And then there’s Williams. At 45, the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion happily, and competitively, returned to tennis this year at the Citi Open after a 16-month break that had sparked retirement speculation. With a win over Peyton Stearns in the first round, Williams became the oldest player to win a singles match at tour level since Martina Navratilova in 2004. Williams continued to compete at the Cincinnati Open and the US Open, where she became the oldest singles player in the main draw since 1981. Williams lost in the first round in a fierce three-set battle against the number 11 seed, Karolina Muchova, but then had a magical run to the quarterfinals in doubles with her partner Leylah Fernandez. And, improbable as it seems, Williams isn’t done yet. Earlier this month, it was announced that she had accepted an invitation to play in Auckland in January, marking her thirty-third year on the circuit as a professional tennis player. If that isn’t a good omen for the 2026 tennis season, we don’t know what is.