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Carlos Alcaraz moved to within one win of clinching the year-end world No 1 ranking and he also remained on course to finish 2025 with the most prize money in the history of the game from a single season.

Alcaraz’s incredible year has included wins at the French Open and US Open, with victories against his great rival Jannik Sinner in both of those finals.

He has also won six titles on the ATP Tour and now needs just one more victory to clinch the prestigious No 1 ranking for the season after his epic 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-3 victory against Taylor Fritz.

American Fritz was in sparkling form in the first set of their match in the Jimmy Connor Group in Turin, as the two players who clinched victory in their opening contests met in front of a sell-out crowd.

Alcaraz looked agitated and concerned as he was well beaten in the first set tie-break, but the brilliant Spaniard found a way to get back into the match and saw off a fading Fritz with an impressively powerful display in the third set.

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“It was pretty tight, I was struggling more than him in the first set,” said Alcaraz. “I wasn’t serving well, and I think he was pretty comfortable from the baseline, from everywhere…

“I was really relieved after the win because of everything I went through during the match. I wasn’t feeling the ball as well as I was in the first round, but I’m really happy that I found a way to come back and find weakness from him.”

He was asked about the battle with Sinner for the world No 1 ranking and added: “I will try not to think about it. It’s going to be a really big match for me. I will try not to let the nerves play a bad time in the match. I will think about my goals, about feeling much better than today.”

Alcaraz’s impressive finish to the Fritz battle will fuel his hope that he can win his first ATP Finals title and if he can go all the way and clinch victory on Sunday in Turin, he will also have pieced together the most lucrative season in tennis history.

Novak Djokovic set a prize money record as he dominated the men’s game in 2015, with his $21,146,145 the most money won by a player in a single season.

Djokovic’s prize money record is all the more remarkable as the cash on offer was much less in the game a decade ago, with Sinner coming closest to breaking his total as he won $21,069,473 last season.

If Alcaraz wins the ATP Finals and seals victory in all five of his matches in Turin, he will collect $5,071,000.

Alcaraz’s current total of $16,099,427 in prize money would be boosted to $21,170,427 if he is an unbeaten champion at the ATP Finals, which would put him top of the prize money charts for a single season.

MOST PRIZE MONEY IN A SINGLE SEASON

Novak Djokovic – $21,146,145 (2015)
Jannik Sinner – $21,069,473 (2024)
Andy Murray – $16,349,701 (2016)
Rafael Nadal – $16,349,586 (2019)
Carlos Alcaraz – $16,099,427 (2025)

The post Carlos Alcaraz on course to break Novak Djokovic’s prize money record after ATP Finals win appeared first on Tennis365.

The 2025 WTA Tour season is officially over, with action at the WTA Finals in Riyadh bringing a long and memorable year to a close.

Overall, there is a general sense that this has been one of the strongest years in the women’s games for quite some time, with a growing consistency at the very top and rivalries both developing and emerging.

Here, looking back at a player’s year-end ranking and ranking moves, titles won — and significance of those titles — and overall consistency, we rank our 10 best WTA Tour players of 2025.

10) Belinda Bencic

Bencic was outside the top 450 at the start of 2025, but a phenomenal season has put her on the brink of a return to the top 10 at the start of 2026.

The Swiss’ resurgence was one of the best stories of 2025, with a run to the semi-final of Wimbledon accompanied by two WTA 500 triumphs at the Abu Dhabi Open and Pan Pacific Open.

The 28-year-old also reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and the Indian Wells quarter-final in 2025, finishing the year at 11th in the WTA Rankings.

9) Jasmine Paolini

After a stunning breakthrough in 2024, it was always going to be difficult for Paolini to back that up — though the Italian remains inside the top 10 at the end of 2025.

Paolini struggled to make an impact at the Grand Slams, but her triumph on home soil at the Italian Open was one of the most memorable victories of the season, also reaching a second WTA 1000 final of 2025 in Cincinnati.

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The 29-year-old was also a semi-finalist in Miami and Wuhan and guided Italy to a second straight Billie Jean King Cup title, finishing the year as the world No 8 on the WTA Rankings.

8) Madison Keys

Keys struggled in the second half of 2025, but there was no better story this season than her extraordinary run in Melbourne, altering the trajectory of her career to lift the Australian Open title.

The American beat all of Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek, and Aryna Sabalenka on her way to victory, and she would later reach a new career-high of fifth in the WTA Rankings.

Ending the year at seventh in the world, Keys can also celebrate an Adelaide International triumph, Indian Wells semi-final, and a French Open quarter-final in 2025.

7) Mirra Andreeva

A tough second half of 2025 saw Andreeva fail to reach the WTA Finals, though there is little doubt that this season provided a huge breakthrough for one of the brightest talents in the women’s game.

The Russian won back-to-back WTA 1000 titles in Dubai and Indian Wells, all before her 18th birthday, and would later reach French Open and Wimbledon quarter-finals.

Andreeva reached a career-high of fifth in July and ended the season as the world No 9, having started the year down at 16th in the world.

6) Jessica Pegula

Pegula’s Grand Slam results were far from ideal at the start of 2025, though her impressive run to the US Open semi-final was a reminder of why she has been a mainstay in the top 10 in recent years.

That was perhaps her big highlight of 2025, but the 31-year-old was also a champion on all three surfaces the season, triumphing at the Austin Open, Charleston Open, and Bad Homburg Open.

With further finals in Wuhan and Adelaide to her name, and a WTA Finals semi-final, Pegula finishes the year ranked sixth in the world — her fourth straight top-10 finish.

5) Elena Rybakina

Rybakina’s 2025 was up-and-down and highly publicised — not always for the right reasons — but her stunning WTA Finals triumph this past week was one of the most impressive runs to a title all year.

The Kazakh was an unbeaten champion in Riyadh, capturing her third title of the year after WTA 500 titles at the Strasbourg International and Ningbo Open.

A deep Grand Slam run evaded Rybakina in 2025, but a strong end to the season places her in the top five of both our countdown and in the WTA Rankings.

4) Coco Gauff

Gauff’s game was under scrutiny throughout large chunks of 2025, though she still leaves the season with another Grand Slam title and another WTA 1000 title.

After finals at the Madrid Open and Italian Open, the American capped off her clay swing with a stunning run to the title at Roland Garros — downing world No 1 Sabalenka in the final.

Gauff then bounced back from a challenging grass-court and hard-court summer with triumph at the Wuhan Open, and finishes the season as the world No 3 for the third consecutive year.

3) Amanda Anisimova

Starting the year down at 36th in the WTA Rankings, the rise of Anisimova was one of the best feel-good stories of the year, with the American set to become a strong force in the game.

Anisimova reached back-to-back Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon and the US Open and, while she did not win either, did claim WTA 1000 triumphs at the Qatar Open and China Open.

With a Queen’s Club runner-up finish and WTA Finals semi-final to her name, the 24-year-old ends an incredible year ranked fourth in the world, and has surged more than most this season.

2) Iga Swiatek

2025 has sometimes been perceived as an ‘off’ year for Swiatek, though it is a hallmark of her greatness that a seemingly weaker year still sees her capture a Grand Slam title.

The Pole’s run to a sixth major at Wimbledon — double-bagelling Anisimova in the final — was one of the most impressive runs of the year, and she would later win the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open and WTA 500 Korea Open.

Despite some uncharacteristic defeats, Swiatek was still an Australian Open and French Open semi-finalist and US Open quarter-finalist, and comfortably finishes 2025 as the world No 2.

1) Aryna Sabalenka

Sabalenka was not dominant this year, but she was far enough ahead of the rest to comfortably be recognised as the best player of 2025.

The Belarusian’s four titles were highlighted by winning her fourth Grand Slam title at the US Open, with WTA 1000 triumphs in Miami and Madrid — and the Brisbane International title — also to her name.

Sabalenka’s four titles were the most on tour this year, as were her nine finals, with runner-up finishes at the Australian Open, French Open, Indian Wells, WTA Finals, and Stuttgart Open to her name.

Her struggle to get over the line in big matches will be a talking point heading into 2026, but she has been atop the WTA Rankings all season, and her place as No 1 feels secure for a while.

Honourable mentions

Ekaterina Alexandrova: The 31-year-old won the Linz Open and reached a further three WTA 500 finals this year, quietly climbing up the rankings to finish 2025 at a career-high of world No 10.

Clara Tauson: Big-hitting Tauson ends the year at a career-high of 12th after a breakthrough season, triumphing in Auckland and finishing runner-up in Dubai.

Read Next: Prize money earned by Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff, Rybakina, Anisimova in 2025 WTA Tour season

The post Ranking the 10 best WTA Tour players of 2025 – ft. Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff, Anisimova appeared first on Tennis365.

Legendary tennis coach Toni Nadal has identified the similarities and differences he sees between Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic as he addressed comparisons between the pair.

Sinner, the world No 2, is competing at the 2025 ATP Finals in Turin, where he is aiming to defend the title he won last year.

Djokovic withdrew ahead of the season-ending championships after winning his 101st ATP singles title in Athens last week.

Toni Nadal gives his take on whether Jannik Sinner is an improved version of Novak Djokovic

• Toni Nadal, the uncle and former coach of Rafael Nadal, has said that Novak Djokovic is “a bit more complete” than Jannik Sinner
• The Mallorcan assessed that Sinner has “more speed” in his shots, while Djokovic possesses “more touch”
• Nadal also thinks Sinner is “ahead” of Carlos Alcaraz as the favourite to win the ATP Finals

Djokovic gave his verdict on comparisons between himself and Sinner during this year’s Wimbledon Championships.

“I think it’s obvious in terms of the style of play that we both have, that we have quite a bit of similarities,” said the 24-time Grand Slam winner. “We try to take the ball early, be aggressive, and dominate the exchange from the baseline.”

What Toni Nadal said about Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner

In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Toni Nadal was asked if he agreed with those who claim Sinner is “Djokovic 2.0”

“I think Djokovic is a bit more complete. Sinner has more speed in his shots, Nole a bit more touch,” said the Spaniard (translated from Italian).

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“They both have in common the fact that they always impose a high pace and have exceptional ball control, with extremely high-level movement.

“Jannik plays with a very defined pattern: he imposes a very fast pace from the start, which is difficult for anyone to keep up with.”

What Toni Nadal said about the ATP Finals

Nadal also shared his thoughts on the ATP Finals in Turin.

“Obviously, the big favourites are still [Carlos] Alcaraz and Sinner,” said Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former coach.

“Jannik has played at a very high level in recent tournaments, and I think he can start in Turin a bit ahead of Carlos, who honestly seems a little less comfortable on this fast surface.

“It will certainly be a great match, not to be missed.”

READ NEXT: What did Carlos Alcaraz say about impact of Novak Djokovic’s controversial ATP Finals decision?

The post Toni Nadal’s honest verdict on whether Jannik Sinner is ‘Novak Djokovic 2.0’ appeared first on Tennis365.

The 2025 WTA Tour season is done and dusted, and Aryna Sabalenka finished the campaign where she started, at No 1, while there were several big movers and droppers during the year.

On the back of her Australian Open and US Open crowns in 2024, Sabalenka finished last year on 9,416 points and she was followed in the WTA Rankings by Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini and Zheng Qinwen.

With her position as the year-end No 1 confirmed before this year’s WTA Finals, Sabalenka joined an elite list of women who have completed a full calendar year at the top of the rankings with Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Serena Williams and Ashleigh Barty the others to achieve the feat.

And although Sabalenka won only one major in 2025, successfully defending her US Open crown, the Belarusian accumulated more points this year than last year as she finishes the campaign with a tally of 10,870.

Swiatek, Gauff and Paolini have roughly kept up with their 2024 totals, but Zheng has dropped out of the top 20 as she missed the bulk of the second half of this season due to injury.

WTA Rankings On January 1

1. Aryna Sabalenka – 9,416 points
2. Iga Swiatek – 8,295
3. Coco Gauff – 6,530
4. Jasmine Paolini – 5,344
5. Zheng Qinwen – 5,340
6. Elena Rybakina – 5,171
7. Jessica Pegula – 4,705
8. Emma Navarro – 3,589
9. Daria Kasatkina – 3,368
10. Barbora Krejcikova – 3,214
11. Danielle Collins – 3,178
12. Paula Badosa – 2,908
13. Diana Shnaider – 2,895
14. Anna Kalinskaya – 2,743
15. Jelena Ostapenko – 2,588
16. Mirra Andreeva – 2,578
17. Beatriz Haddad Maia – 2,554
18. Marta Kostyuk – 2,493
19. Donna Vekic – 2,258
20. Victoria Azarenka – 2,127

Besides Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff and Paolini, the other players who are still in the top 10 a year later are Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula with the Kazakh player ending the year at No 5 after winning the WTA Finals while Pegula is at No 6.

Amanda Anisimova was a big winner as she was at No 36 after the last update in December 2024, but has climbed to a new high of No 5 following two WTA 1000 titles and Grand Slam runners-up trophies at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Emma Navarro has not done too badly as she sits at No 15 while Kasatkina slipped 28 places, currently at No 37, but that’s nothing compared to Barbora Krejcikova as the two-time Grand Slam winner’s injury-disrupted nightmare season has resulted in a 55-spot drop.

American Danielle Collins was one spot behind Krejcikova at the start of the year and she is now one spot ahead of the Czech at No 64 after a poor season.

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Mirra Andreeva, of course, finds herself at No 9 in the latest WTA Rankings while the likes of Paula Badosa (No 25), Diana Shnaider (No 21), Anna Kalinskaya (No 33), Jelena Ostapenko (No 23) and Marta Kostyuk (No 26) are not too bad off compared to 12 months ago.

Beatriz Haddad Maia is at No 58 and Donna Vekic at No 77, but former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka has endured a nightmare year as she has dropped out of the top 100, currently finding herself at No 135.

WTA Rankings On November 10

1. Aryna Sabalenka – 10,870 points
2. Iga Swiatek – 8,395
3. Coco Gauff – 6,763
4. Amanda Anisimova – 6,287
5. Elena Rybakina – 5,850
6. Jessica Pegula – 5,583
7. Madison Keys – 4,335
8. Jasmine Paolini – 4,325
9. Mirra Andreeva – 4,319
10. Ekaterina Alexandrova – 3,375
11. Belinda Bencic – 3,168
12. Clara Tauson – 2,770
13. Linda Noskova – 2,641
14. Elina Svitolina – 2,595
15. Emma Navarro – 2,515
16. Naomi Osaka – 2,487
17. Luidmila Samsonova – 2,209
18. Victoria Mboko – 2,157
19. Karolina Muchova – 1,996
20. Elise Mertens – 1,969

Other Big Rankings Winners (Selected)

The fairytale story of 2025 no doubt involved rising star Victoria Mboko.

Mboko started the year at No 333, but surged into the top 100 on the back of winning her first WTA Tour-level title, the Canadian Open, but that was not the end of her rise as the 19-year-old won a second title at the Hong Kong Open to break into the top 20.

In terms of other winners who have made their way into the top 20 by the end of 2025, Madison Keys was No 21 at the start of the year but hit the top 10 after winning the Australian Open.

Ekaterina Alexandrova was at No 28 in January, Belinda Bencic No 489, Clara Tauson (No 50), Naomi Osaka (No 57), Luidmila Samsonova (No 27), Karolina Muchova (No 22) and Elise Mertens (No 34).

Bencic also had an incredible storyline this season as she missed most of the 2024 season after giving birth to her first child, a girl, in February. The Swiss won the Abu Dhabi Open and Pan Pacific Open while she also reached the semi-final at Wimbledon to find herself on the brink of a return to the top 10.

Emma Raducanu was at No 58 in January but finished at No 29 – her highest position since September 2022 – and her rise was through consistency rather than one big title run.

Iva Jovic was one of four teenage title winners in 2025 and she jumped from No 189 to No 35.

Lois Boisson was another success story as she at No 203 at the end of last year and was down at No 361 at the start of the French Open, but caused several shocks at her home Grand Slam as she beat third seed Pegula and sixth seed Andreeva to reach the semi-final before losing to eventual champion Gauff.

The Frenchwoman also won the Hamburg Open in July now sits comfortably in the top 50 at No 36.

Alex Eala, meanwhile, became the first Filipina to crack the top 100 of the WTA Rankings after reaching the semi-final of the Miami Open where she beat Grand Slam winners Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek. The 20-year-old finished at No 50 after starting the campaign at No 147.

Janice Tjen was one of the first-time title winners in 2025 and she started her campaign at No 412, but broke into the top 100 in October when she finished runner-up in Sao Paolo and then won the Chennai title to crack the top 60, finishing at No 54.

Her compatriot Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah was at No 349 on the final day of last season, but her Sao Paolo title run was key to her jump to No 123.

The Biggest Losers (Selected)

Besides Azarenka and Krejcikova, Karolina Pliskova was another big-name player who suffered a massive drop. The former world No 1 finished 2024 at No 41, but she has slipped to No 1044 after playing only three matches this year.

2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens hit a career-high of No 3 in 2018, but finished 2024 at No 74. Her poor form and injury nightmare continued in 2025 and she is currently at No 1062.

Ons Jabeur peaked at No 2 in 2022, but now sits at No 79.

Katie Boulter was on the brink of a top 20 breakthrough a year ago as she finished the season at No 24, but poor form and injuries have seen her drop to No 100 in the latest rankings.

The post WTA Rankings Winners & Losers: Sabalenka No 1, Mboko +315, Eala +97, Raducanu +27, Azarenka -115 appeared first on Tennis365.

Carlos Alcaraz has candidly expressed his feelings on facing Lorenzo Musetti instead of Novak Djokovic at the 2025 ATP Finals after the latter pulled out of the event.

The world No 1 was drawn with Djokovic, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur in the Jimmy Connors Group at this year’s ATP Finals in Turin.

Djokovic announced he would not compete at the ATP Finals due to a shoulder injury after he defeated Musetti in a pulsating final at the ATP 250 event in Athens the day before the season-ending championships was due to begin.

Carlos Alcaraz addresses Lorenzo Musetti replacing Novak Djokovic at ATP Finals

• Carlos Alcaraz has said facing Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals would have been “tough” as he pointed to the tennis icon’s experience at the event and level on indoor courts
• The 22-year-old admitted he would rather play Musetti than Djokovic as he recalled being “killed” by the Serbian at the 2023 ATP Finals
• Alcaraz added that Musetti “deserves” to be in Turin because of how the Italian has performed this season

A showdown between Alcaraz and Djokovic would arguably have been the pick of the round robin matches, but the Spaniard will instead play Musetti, who took the Serbian’s place in the group.

Alcaraz began his campaign in Turin with a 7-6(6), 6-2 victory over seventh-ranked de Minaur, and he will face Fritz in his second match before concluding his round robin campaign against Musetti.

The six-time major champion is chasing a maiden ATP Finals crown, while he can also clinch the ATP year-end No 1 ranking ahead of Jannik Sinner by winning three matches in Turin.

What Carlos Alcaraz said about Novak Djokovic’s ATP Finals withdrawal

After beating de Minaur, Alcaraz was asked about the difference between having Djokovic and Musetti in his group in Turin.

“Well, obviously someone like Novak being in the group is always tough,” said the Spaniard.

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“The experience he has in this tournament, the level he has on indoor court, it’s quite good. I lost to him in 2023, and I played great. He killed me (smiling).

“To be honest, I prefer Lorenzo. I’m not going to lie (laughs). If he’s there, he deserves it because of the level he has put on the matches, the tournaments he has done this year, and the level he showed this year. It was really, really high.

“Let’s see how he’s going to be, how he’s going to adapt. He’s coming from Athens, and he couldn’t feel the court at all. But I’m sure he’s going to do great and let’s see how it’s going to be.”

Musetti, the world No 9, fell 3-6, 4-6 to sixth-ranked Fritz on his ATP Finals debut on Monday.

What happened when Alcaraz played Djokovic at the 2023 ATP Finals?

Alcaraz, who holds a 4-5 record against Djokovic, referenced his loss to the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the 2023 ATP Finals.

In that match, Djokovic delivered an outstanding display to dismantle Alcaraz 6-3, 6-2 in the semi-finals in Turin.

The Serbian went on to claim a record seventh ATP Finals crown that year as he saw off Sinner 6-3, 6-3 in the final.

READ NEXT: Carlos Alcaraz makes ‘kinda weird’ confession as he responds to Andy Roddick’s ‘darkness’ claim

The post What did Carlos Alcaraz say about impact of Novak Djokovic’s controversial ATP Finals decision? appeared first on Tennis365.

The 2025 WTA Tour season concluded with the WTA Finals in Riyadh last week, but which stars earned the most prize money in women’s tennis this year?

There are 65 WTA Tour players who have secured at least $1million in on-court earnings this campaign (across singles and doubles), with 23 of these women having surpassed the $2million mark.

Veronika Kudermetova ($2,809,563), Ekaterina Alexandrova ($2,689,766), Belinda Bencic ($2,609,769), Naomi Osaka ($2,515,892) and Jelena Ostapenko ($2,328,202) occupy 11th to 15th on the 2025 WTA prize money list.

The top 10 prize money earners on the WTA Tour in 2025

• Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are the only women to earn over $10million in prize money this season
• Elena Rybakina soared to third on the list after winning the WTA Finals, while Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova make the top five
• Less than $1million separates Jessica Pegula in sixth and Madison Keys in ninth

Here, we count down the 10 players who collected the most prize money on the WTA Tour in 2025.

10. Elise Mertens – $2,895,029 ($1,495,709 in doubles)

Elise Mertens is the 10th highest prize money earner this season, having collected more money in doubles than any other woman.

The Belgian won the WTA Finals and Wimbledon doubles titles, and finished as a runner-up in Madrid and Rome, with her partner Kudermetova.

9. Madison Keys – $4,357,787 ($32,900 in doubles)

Madison Keys collected $2,209,109 for winning her maiden Grand Slam title at the 2025 Australian Open after she started the season by winning the WTA 500 in Adelaide. The American was also a semi-finalist in Indian Wells, and a quarter-finalist at the French Open, the Madrid Open and the Canadian Open.

8. Mirra Andreeva – $4,726,226 ($768,074 in doubles)

Mirra Andreeva claimed successive WTA 1000 titles in Dubai and Indian Wells, while she also reached quarter-finals at the French Open, Wimbledon, Madrid and Rome.

7. Jasmine Paolini – $5,253,997 ($1,192,598 in doubles)

Jasmine Paolini won her only singles title of 2025 at the Italian Open, and she also reached a final in Cincinnati and a semi-final in Miami. The Italian won four doubles titles with her partner Sara Errani: the French Open, the Qatar Open, the Italian Open and the China Open.

6. Jessica Pegula – $5,262,311 ($174,783 in doubles)

Jessica Pegula was a runner-up at the Miami Open and the Wuhan Open, a semi-finalist at the US Open, the WTA Finals and the China Open, and a quarter-finalist at the Qatar Open.

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5. Amanda Anisimova – $7,260,577 ($10,000 in doubles)

Amanda Anisimova was a runner-up at back-to-back Grand Slams at Wimbledon and the US Open, and she won WTA 1000 tournaments in Doha and Beijing this year. The American also made the last four at the WTA Finals.

4. Coco Gauff – $7,969,845 ($188,940 in doubles)

Coco Gauff claimed $2,901,024 for winning her first French Open title — and second Grand Slam overall — in June.

The world No 3 won the Wuhan Open WTA 1000 and was a runner-up at the 1000 tournaments in Madrid and Rome during the clay season. The American also reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and in Cincinnati.

3. Elena Rybakina – $8,456,632 ($26,470 in doubles)

Elena Rybakina won WTA 500 events in Strasbourg and Ningbo, and she reached the semi-finals in Dubai, Montreal, Cincinnati and Tokyo.

The 2022 Wimbledon winner collected the biggest paycheque in the history of women’s sports ($5,235,000) for her undefeated run to the season-ending WTA Finals title in Riyadh.

2. Iga Swiatek – $10,112,532 ($200,000 in doubles)

Iga Swiatek earned $4,069,500 for winning her maiden Wimbledon crown and sixth Grand Slam overall in July.

The world No 2 also triumphed at the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati and the WTA 500 in Seoul, while she was a finalist in Bad Homburg. The Pole reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Doha, Indian Wells and Madrid.

1. Aryna Sabalenka – $15,008,519

Aryna Sabalenka was the best player on the WTA Tour in 2025, and she crowned her campaign with her triumph at the US Open last month.

The world No 1’s victory at Flushing Meadows, which saw her claim her first major of the season and fourth in total, earned her a record Grand Slam winner’s cheque of $5,000,000. She also secured WTA 1000 titles in Miami and Madrid and a WTA 500 title in Brisbane this year.

The Belarusian was a runner-up at the French Open, the Australian Open, the WTA Finals, the Indian Wells Open and the Stuttgart Open, while she was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon.

READ NEXT: Aryna Sabalenka’s biggest opponent is revealed again as Elena Rybakina wins WTA Finals

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Felix Auger-Aliassime has been a mainstay on the ATP Tour for several years and, despite being only 25, has already achieved an impressive level of success during his career.

While his father, Sam Aliassime, has proven a key influence in his career, long-time coach Frederic Fontang has also been a significant driving force behind the Canadian’s rise to prominence over the past decade.

Here, we look at Fontang’s journey to coaching Auger-Aliassime and the impact the 55-year-old has had on the Canadian’s career.

Playing career

Before his successful coaching career, Fontang was himself a professional tennis player.

The Frenchman won the prestigious Petits As as a junior in 1984 and was the French 16s champion in 1986, before entering the senior game.

The 55-year-old reached a career-high ranking of world No 59 in 1991, the same year he achieved the greatest successes of his career.

Fontang defeated Emilio Sanchez in Palermo to win his sole ATP Tour title, having finished as the runner-up at a tournament in San Marino earlier that year.

He reached the second round of his home Grand Slam at Roland Garros in 1997, playing the tournament seven times, and also made Australian Open and Wimbledon appearances during his career.

Fontang retired from the sport in 1999.

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Coaching career

Following the conclusion of his playing career, Fontang switched to coaching and initially worked with compatriot Jeremy Chardy, their partnership starting when the latter was still a junior.

Fontang guided Chardy to the junior Wimbledon title in 2005 and a junior US Open runner-up finish that same year, and helped the Frenchman on his journey into the senior game.

Under Fontang’s guidance, Chardy won his sole career singles title at the 2009 Stuttgart Open and reached the fourth round of the 2008 French Open, cracking the top 30 before an acrimonious split.

Fontang then worked with future WTA world No 4 Caroline Garcia while she was a junior, helping her reach the US Open girls’ singles final in 2011.

That was then followed by a lengthy and successful spell with Vasek Pospisil, working with the Canadian from 2012 to 2016.

Pospisil moved from outside the top 100 to a career-high of 25th in the singles ATP Rankings during his time with Fontang, also reaching fourth in the doubles rankings — and winning Wimbledon in 2014.

After their split in August 2016, Fontang started working with Auger-Aliassime in early 2017.

Time with Auger-Aliassime

Auger-Aliassime was just 16 years old when he and Fontang started working together, and, at nearly eight years in length, it is one of the longest-standing player-coach partnerships on tour.

He made his ATP Tour debut in 2018 and has become one of the most successful Canadian players of the Open Era, winning eight tour-level titles during his time working with Fontang.

Auger-Aliassime is also a two-time Masters 1000 runner-up, in Madrid last year and Paris this Autumn, and is a two-time US Open semi-finalist, and an Australian Open and Wimbledon quarter-finalist.

The Canadian reached a career-high ranking of sixth in 2022, though difficult 2023 and 2024 seasons saw him fall back outside the top 25.

However, he and Fontang continued working together and that paid dividends in a resurgent 2025, with Auger-Aliassime winning three titles, returning to the last four at Flushing Meadows, and qualifying for the ATP Finals.

It would have been easy for either to want to part ways amid a difficult two-year spell, but Fontang was ready to deal with any potential setbacks within their partnership.

“The progression usually goes smoothly. But at some point, there can be setbacks,” he told L’Equipe.

“For us, it was the injury that somewhat halted the process. Although we shouldn’t blame everything on that. We experimented a bit with certain tactical aspects, we tried things that didn’t work.

“Felix was taking the ball a little less early, for example. There were some back-and-forths in his tactical approach to the game.

“Felix is ​​an intelligent player who watches a lot of tennis; he sensed things and wanted to improve during this transition to the next level. And he’s reconnected recently.”

Having started 2025 ranked 29th in the world, a strong start to the season — and a late-season surge — has seen Auger-Aliassime return to the top 10.

With Fontang set to remain in his corner, all eyes will be on how much further he can progress in the years to come.

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Carlos Alcaraz is back at No 1 and he didn’t have to lift a racket the past week while Ben Shelton and Learner Tien have broken fresh ground in the rankings.

On the back of winning the Paris Masters last week, Jannik Sinner reclaimed top spot from Alcaraz, but his stay was always going to be brief as the points from the 2024 ATP Finals were due to drop.

Now that the formalities have been completed, Alcaraz has returned to No 1 as he lost only 200 points from last year’s season-ending event, giving him a 1,050-point cushion as Sinner dropped 1,500 points after winning the 2024 title.

Of course, the Italian can still finish as the year-end No 1, but he will need to be flawless in Turin and hope that Alcaraz exits earlier.

Alexander Zverev remains third, but he is more than 5,000 points behind Zverev while Novak Djokovic is up one place and just 130 points behind the German after his Hellenic Championship title win over the weekend.

But Djokovic’s decision not to compete at this year’s ATP Finals means Zverev is favourite to finish the year at No 3.

With Taylor Fritz moving down two places, Shelton is the new American No 1 as he is up one place to a new career-high No 5, although the battle between the two players will go down to the wire in Turin.

Although Alexander Bublik lost in the second round of the Moselle Open, is up two places to a new high of 11 while Casper Ruud dropped two spots.

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Rising star Tien was the man to win the title in Metz as he defeated Cameron Norrie 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6) in the final to win his maiden ATP Tour singles title and with it came a 10-place rise to a career-high No 28, just one place behind the Brit.

Former world No 6 Matteo Berrettini reached the quarter-final at the Moselle event before losing to Tien, and he is up seven places to No 56.

In terms of big droppers, Benjamin Bonzi is down 37 places to No 94, Hamad Medjedovic slipped 18 places to No 83 and Laslo Djere dropped 17 spots to No 99.

With the ATP Finals the final regular event on the ATP Tour season, the 2025 year-end ATP Rankings will be completed at the completion of the Turin tournament.

It will also then determine the seedings for next year’s Australian Open following a tweak to the ATP rules.

ATP Rankings Top 20

1. Carlos Alcaraz Spain – 11,050 (+1)
2. Jannik Sinner Italy – 10,000 points (-1)
3. Alexander Zverev Germany – 4,960
4. Novak Djokovic Serbia – 4,830 (+1)
5. Ben Shelton United States – 3,970 (+1)
6. Taylor Fritz United States – 3,935 (-2)
7. Alex de Minaur Australia – 3,935
8. Felix Auger-Aliassime Canada – 3,845
9. Lorenzo Musetti Italy – 3,840
10. Jack Draper Great Britain – 2,990 (+1)
11. Alexander Bublik Kazakhstan – 2,870 (+2)
12. Casper Ruud Norway – 2,835 (-2)
13. Daniil Medvedev – 2,760 (-1)
14. Alejandro Davidovic Fokina Spain – 2,635
15. Holger Rune Denmark – 2,590
16. Andrey Rublev – 2,520
17. Jiri Lehecka Czech Republic – 2,325
18. Karen Khachanov – 2,320
19. Jakub Mensik Czech Republic – 2,180
20. Tommy Paul United States – 2,100

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The 2025 WTA Tour season has come to an end with Elena Rybakina winning the final tournament of the campaign while Aryna Sabalenka finishes the year where she started: at No 1.

Rybakina completed her brilliant late-season charge by beating Sabalenka in the final of the WTA Finals to win the second-biggest title of her career following her 2022 success at Wimbledon.

And she did it in style, winning the tournament undefeated as she beat Amanda Anisimova, Iga Swiatek and Ekaterina Alexandrova during the group phase before holding off Jessica Pegula in three sets in the semi-final. In the final, she overcame Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6 (7-0) to win the year-end event for the first time in her career.

The five wins in Riyadh earned her 1,500 points and she moved up one place in the WTA Rankings to No 5, which is just reward for her excellent form since the start of the Asian swing as she was down at No 10 on September 15.

The Kazakh star – who peaked at No 3 in the rankings in June 2023 – reached the quarter-final of the Wuhan Open, won the Ningbo Open and made it to the semi-final of the Pan Pacific Open before completing her run with the title in Saudi Arabia.

Besides the 1,500 ranking points, Rybakina also earned $5,235,000 – a record in women’s tennis – for winning the WTA Finals undefeated.

But the WTA Rankings star of the year was undoubtedly Sabalenka as she will complete a full calendar at No 1, having wrapped up the year-end top spot before the WTA Finals.

The Belarusian finished the 2024 season on 9,416 points and she has gone better in 2025 as she finishes on 10,870 points with her biggest gains coming from her US Open victory, runners-up spots at the Australian Open, French Open and WTA Finals, and Miami Open and Madrid Open titles.

The four-time Grand Slam winner will start the 2026 season with a 2,475-point lead over Iga Swiatek, who in turn is 1,632 points ahead of Coco Gauff.

Although Gauff exited the WTA Finals after the round-robin stage, she managed to hold off Amanda Anisimova in the battle for the American year-end No 1 spot as the latter’s run to the semi-final saw her move to within 476 points.

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Despite reaching the last four, Pegula drops one place – although it is more a case of Rybakina moving up a spot – while the rest of the top 50 remains unchanged as the regular WTA Tour season finished last week.

However, there are still some WTA 125 tournaments and ITF events scheduled until early December and there was some movement lower down the list as Renata Zarazua climbed 12 places to No 70 after winning the Austin 125.

Oleksandra Oliynykova was the other WTA 125 title winner last week as she won the event in Tucuman, Argentina, to rise 23 spots to No 109.

But the top 20 will remain the same for the rest of the 2025 season, but please do keep an eye out for our 2025 WTA Rankings Winners & Losers that will feature the likes of Sabalenka, Victoria Mboko and Alex Eala.

WTA Rankings Top 20

1. Aryna Sabalenka – 10,870 points
2. Iga Swiatek Poland – 8,395
3. Coco Gauff United States – 6,763
4. Amanda Anisimova United States – 6,287
5. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan – 5,850 (+1)
6. Jessica Pegula United States – 5,583 (-1)
7. Madison Keys United States – 4,335
8. Jasmine Paolini Italy – 4,325
9. Mirra Andreeva – 4,319
10. Ekaterina Alexandrova – 3,375
11. Belinda Bencic Switzerland – 3,168
12. Clara Tauson Denmark – 2,770
13. Linda Noskova Czech Republic – 2,641
14. Elina Svitolina Ukraine – 2,595
15. Emma Navarro United States – 2,515
16. Naomi Osaka Japan – 2,487
17. Luidmila Sansonova – 2,209
18. Victoria Mboko Canada – 2,157 (+3)
19. Karolina Muchova Czech Republic – 1,996
20. Elise Mertens Belgium – 1,969

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Novak Djokovic and the ATP Tour have rarely been singing from the same hymn sheet and the events of the last few days are unlikely to improve relations.

As Djokovic delayed confirming whether he would play in the ATP Finals in Turin, tournament organisers were left to scramble together a pre-tournament plan that left them in a challenging position.

We need to appreciate how big a moment in the year this is for the ATP Tour.

For the organisation that runs the men’s tour, the eight-day event at the end of the season is bigger than any of the Grand Slams, as this is the one tournament they have full ownership of and it generates millions in revenue for them with sponsors and broadcast agreements.

The eight players who qualify to compete are lavishly paid for their appearance, with a player who wins all five of their matches over the next few days walking away with $5,071,000, the richest payout in the event’s history for a non-exhibition event.

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Part of the deal to earn that cash is making appearances at pre-tournament events, completing a lot of media duties and doing what is requested to promote the event at the ATP Tour.

Djokovic’s actions over the last few weeks have severely damaged the ATP’s efforts to promote their marquee tournament, as he delayed confirming whether he would play and only confirmed he was not heading to Turin the evening before the event was due to get underway.

Djokovic’s announcement that he wouldn’t play in Turin after he won the ATP 250 event in Athens was not a surprise, as it seemed highly unlikely that a player who has not played a full tennis schedule over the last few years would rush from Greece to Italy to play in a tournament he also pulled out of last year.

The question is, when did Djokovic decide that he was not going to take up his place at the ATP Finals?

If we are to believe his version of events, he only decided not to play in Turin after a long match against Lorenzo Musetti in the Athens finals, but some will suspect he was never going to compete against the best in men’s tennis in what is a gruelling event.

As he refused to reveal if he would play, the draw was made with Djokovic’s name included and his decision to withdraw has left an imbalance in the groups.

He also left Musetti and Felix Auger-Aliassime waiting as they pushed to qualify for the ATP Finals, with both now set to compete after Djokovic’s announcement created an extra place in the draw.

Djokovic was asked about his ATP Finals decision time and again in Greece as he progressed through the tournament and always declined to answer, but he would have needed to make a lot of plans if he was going to fly from Greece to Italy in double quick time and it would be interesting to know if those plans were ever put in place.

While Djokovic now heads off for a longer off-season before pondering what tournaments he will play in next year, the ATP are finally getting a chance to put the finishing piece of their event in Turin in place and fans looking to buy tickets will belatedly know who they will be watching.

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Djokovic made no apology for the confusion he caused in his announcement that he was not travelling Italy, but he will doubtless feel he has earned the right to pick and choose when he plays.

Also, the Serbian has not tried to hide his annoyance at elements of how the ATP run men’s tennis, with the Professional Tennis Players Association he supports looking to stand up to the game’s decision makers and they look to take control of how the sport is run.

Djokovic made some inflammatory comments while speaking in Saudi Arabia last month that suggested he is already looking to a new role trying to make changes to the men’s game and the words he used left little to the imagination.

“In our sport, it is a big monopoly that has been there for decades,” said Djokovic at the Joy Forum. “That was the biggest inspiration for me and my college Vasek Pospisil, my fellow tennis player, we founded the Professional Tennis Players Association.

“Now we have the PTPA, but we still don’t have the voice at the table where the decisions are being made. That’s the downside of our sport and the way it is structured. The system is the way that it is.

“I’m always looking for a place where there is innovation and thankfully with my achievements, I have a platform and a mic in my hand and I can say certain things that will hurt a lot of people and disturb along of chairs. But I don’t care. At the end of the day, I love this sport. This sport has given me everything in my life, so I want to give it back.

“What can I do for the players? How can I personally engage in some changes so we can force that, in a right way.

“A lot of people are going to oppose that, they are not going to like it, but I can sleep well knowing I’m doing something good and my heart is in the right place.

“The fire just keeps going in me. As long as you live, as long as you breathe, you want to make this world a better place.”

When a sporting icon vows to take on the game’s authorities to force change, everyone stands up and takes notice.

Djokovic’s actions over the last few days and his predictable withdrawal from the ATP Finals may be evidence that he feels no obligation to work with tennis chiefs he clearly feels need to do more for the sport.

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