WTA player season ratings & awards

In this episode of Everyone Watches Women's Tennis, I reflect on the fast-paced world of women's tennis as the year comes to a close. I'll provide a recap of the past fews weeks on the tour, from Aryna Sabalenka's victory at the US Open to Amanda Anisimova capping off her season with another 1000 title. There will also be a detailed rating of the top 10 players' seasons, considering their performances and expectations. Then I'll cap off this episode with ratings for other notable players and my personal end-of-season awards.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 4:39 Post US Open Catch-up
• 9:54 Top Ten Player Ratings
• 29:54 Key Player Ratings
• 41:27 End of Season Awards
• 47:25 Outro

Transcript

Matipa Ruzive (00:06)
Hi everyone and welcome back to Everyone Watches Women's Tennis, a tennis podcast that is solely focused on the women's game, giving you regular updates about what is taking place on the WTA Tour both on and off the court. ⁓ my gosh, it's been a while. I'm not gonna say how long it's been, because I don't know. I'm not gonna make excuses about how long it's been. I've just been tired. Actually, I just made an excuse, so, you know, but I'm gonna address it, but not address it.

It's been a while and we've missed some things because tennis moves fast. It moves so fast. But I just wanted to do a quick little episode since we're coming. very close to the end of the year and things kind of ramp out in the last like six weeks. So only like three weeks left because we've got the WTA finals starting on the 1st of November. But things have ramped up.

quickly like after the US Open it's just like tournament after tournament after tournament so things have been moving and I'm sorry I haven't been around to keep you updated on that

Yeah, I engage in too much tennis that I get to a point where I am burnt out. And at this time of year, it gets like that. And also, I think this is my excuse every single time I say this, living in Australia, waking up to watch matches or just like, sometimes when I've been waking up, it's like your whole day, you need to organize around how you can watch matches and still function as a human being.

So that's taken its toll, but for the love of the sport, it's worth it. And I will say, note to any North American or European people complaining about the tennis when it comes to Asia for this like last six weeks, please don't. It's only six weeks. You'll survive. Some of us have to deal with this for majority of the year. All right. But as I've said, so much has happened in tennis as it always does. if you blink,

in tennis you you miss so much people would have won 50 titles someone would have dropped out of the top 10 someone would have changed coaches someone would have rehired their coach after dropping them just a lot happens so we've missed a little bit but it's fine i'll do like a quick catch up i have been watching i've been watching a lot i've been watching the tennis i just haven't

I just haven't been doing my journalistic due diligence of keeping you guys up to date and informing you of the goings on. So I am very, very sorry about that. And also in terms of more podcasts related things, I have taken a break from Instagram because I don't really social media.

But also, I don't know which direction I want that Instagram page to be. if it's short form or long form content. And if it's short form, I don't think I can keep up with the kids. Even though I'm 24, I just don't get it anymore. And yeah, I don't know which direction I wanna go with the Instagram. And I don't even know if I wanna run it myself. I think I'm gonna hire someone. And by hire, I mean pay my little brother pennies a week to run it for me.

You know, once that happens, I'm sure you'll be able to notice the difference in the content. And also, I know I've been saying so much about this YouTube channel. I am having so much trouble with some of the technical things, which is weird because I'm pretty good with computers, but I am trying to sort out the technical parts of it. But it will, it will come. It'll come very soon. I keep saying very soon. It'll come soon. I'm trying my best

I'm just thinking of my checklist. Have I said everything I wanted to say before we get into the what a lot of people are here for? Which is tennis information, tennis talk. yes, I haven't even discussed what this episode is going to be about. So for this episode, as you can see, I'm a bit out of practice, but I hope you enjoy it. I hope you enjoy it. I hope I can edit this well enough that

you don't see how out of practice I am but we shall see. But this episode is just gonna be it's gonna be a fun episode like I said I'm just gonna do a little catch up of the tournaments that have been played since the US Open till now and then I'm gonna do a section where I'm rating player seasons out of 10

So I'll be doing the top 10 and then another select like eight players I picked that I think, I don't know, deserve to look at their season a little bit in depth. and I'm gonna give out some 2025 season awards. I know the season hasn't ended yet. We still have a few more tournaments that are being played right now.

And then we also have the WTA finals. So that's a caveat So to start off with just a quick catch up and overview.

So we'll start from the US Open. So we have Aryna Sabalenka won the US Open. Thank goodness. I said to my family if this woman makes the final of the US Open and does not win, I would need her to pack her bags and just leave. Leave the tour for like a year. Which is very very dramatic for you know one of the best players on tour but whatever. But she yes ended up winning her 21st title.

fourth Grand Slam, second US Open Slam and she won her third major final this year. So I'm glad she wins a major as well number one and also finishes the year with a major because I think looking at the year she's had it's been a great year but

in tennis if you don't win that final match if you don't win all seven matches you're still a loser which that's sorry that comes out really harsh but a final is really really good but I think when you're the world number one and you've won Grand Slam before it's not enough anymore to make finals and to be losing them in three sets as well so I'm glad at least her season is capped off with a with a major

and also separate from like Aryna herself personally five million us dollars that was the prize money that is the most prize money ever at a ⁓ women's tournament five million usd for the winner and the runner-up i think got like 2.5 million usd which as an australian that is still more than what the winner of the australian open got but let me not go into those numbers because

you know, sometimes it's hard to comprehend. of that US Open final, she did that by beating Amanda Anisimova, which was sad to watch Amanda be losing her second Grand Slam in a row. was like, it was two things. It was like, yes, you're going to be happy for the winner, but regardless of who lost, it was going to be a crushing defeat for them.

regardless if it was Aryna or Amanda. Alright so that was the US Open and then after the US Open we went to São Paulo in Brazil and that title was taken by Tiansoa Rakoto manga Raja Ona and she defeated Janice Ten and that was her first title ever. If you never heard of her

She is a very young player she's 19 years old and she is French.

And that was her first title. So we'll see what she'll be able to do for France. And her name, I'm going to learn how to say it a bit more fluently. It's probably similar to one of the other languages I speak. So it should not be that hard to say, but I was just making sure I sounded out every syllable just to make sure I didn't make any mistakes. I will say she does have her nickname. She goes by Titi. So you can refer to her as that, but.

Tiansoa so lovely to see Then next another first time WTA title winner as well was Iva Jovich who won in Guadalajara, which is a 500 level event and she did that by beating Emiliana Arango of Colombia Then we moved to the Asia's Swing and that started off in Korea and

In Korea, Iga Swiatek was the champion. She defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova in three sets and that was a 500 level event as well. Then after that, we went to Beijing for the first 1000 event and that one was taken out by Amanda Anisimova where she defeated Linda Noskova in three sets as well. That's Amanda's second 1000 for this year and

second ever it's also her second title this year and ⁓ i was glad to see her win a title and also like a big title she's had a she's had a great year but also a heartbreaking year so if she had lost another final i just i think it would have yeah maybe started to take a toll

Then we went to Wuhan where Coco Gauff took out the title. She did that by beating Jessica Pegula in straight sets and that was another 1000 level tournament. Then just last week we had Elena Rybakina defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova in Ningbo and that was a 500 level event. And then

most recent tournament was in Osaka 250 level event where Leylah Fernandez defeated youngster Teresa Valentova and that was in three sets and that is where we're up to

And then currently there are two tournaments being played. We've got one in Tokyo and that's a 500 level tournament. And then the other tournament being played this week is in China in Guangzhou and that is a 250 level tournament. So keep you up to date with the winners of that one for our next episode.

Alright as I mentioned we'll be discussing players' seasons or giving them a rate out of 10 so 10 being the best season for them then one being just horrendous just the worst it could possibly have been

and on this scale explaining the scale is a bit difficult because it's essentially going player by player and what the expectation and level is for specific players so it's not like we're measuring them against the best year in tennis that's ever been which was like Steffi Graf doing the golden slam

So that's winning all four slams and also the gold medal at the Olympics. That's not what I'm measuring them up against because that's very, very difficult to match. Essentially, I'm measuring them up against themselves, their potential, but also their history and the expectations. Expectations they've put on themselves, but expectations we have of them. Because I think some players, you have high expectations and

even if they achieve something depending on who they are it might not be enough so that's where I'm coming from when I give these ratings we'll start with our top 10 players I'll try and do this as quickly as possible I thought it was going to be fast but I wrote a lot of information so we'll start from number 10 going back to number one

first player I have here is Ekaterina Alexandrovna who is a debutante to the top 10. This is her highest ever career ranking and I'm really glad to see it. She's one of my favorite players on tour. Yeah, you probably might have noticed in other episodes because I refer to her as Ekat. So just a term of endearment. A lot of people do but you know

Looking at Ekaterina season so far she's won one title that was in Linz Austria that was a 500 level event that was earlier this year around March but she has been in four finals and out of the three that she lost they were three setters so she lost in Monterey, Korea and Ningbo just last week and then looking at her win loss ratio so

It's 46.23 and that's about 67 % of a win percentage. Mind you with the win percentage, I'm doing the math myself so it's a bit, it could be a bit off but I don't think so. Anyway, so looking at that information, just looking at pure stats, I gave her season a seven out of 10. So that seven comes because

Those results are her best results on Tour so far. And also her best Grand Slam performances. made the fourth round of three of the Grand Slams, but she's yet to get over that fourth round hurdle. And I think it's coming. I'm still waiting for one more push from Ekat in like a Grand Slam or a thousand where she either wins or at least makes the final.

But I don't know, as we can see, she made four finals and only one won. So there's just like a hurdle that she needs to get over. But also her play style is one that can change from week to week or like not even week to week, from match to match. So she'll be firing on all cylinders and the ball is, within the margins one match and then the next match it's just unforced errors galore.

So there's no consistency. I don't think there's enough consistency yet to pull off a two week run. So that's that on Alexandrova. Probably said too much. Try and make this quick fire. Then currently ranked world number nine, we've got Mirra Andreeva.

So so far, Mirra has won two titles and she's been in two finals. her win loss record is 40 16 and

That's about a 71 % winning percentage. Just to let you know, the titles she won were the Dubai and Indian Wells, and she won those back to back, two 1000s back to back. that And those were the biggest titles that she's won. I'll say for Mirra it's been like a season of two halves. The first half of the year.

she was firing you felt like you were building up to something. Personally I felt like we building up to a grand slam. I thought that's where we're headed and then the second half of this year it's just dissolved. after Wimbledon but even even her grand slam performances so she made 4th out of Australia and open that was fine.

And then she made the quarters off French. She went in as the favorite and she started that match well but crumbled under the pressure of the crowd. And then quarterfinals of Wimbledon, I feel like she just didn't show up. she played well but there was another gear, another level that she needed to get to and she couldn't. And I think now nerves are getting nerves and expectations are now getting into her playing and you don't want that.

I was saying to my sister, I wish Mirra had like what she did. She surprised us on tour, played well, made fourth rounds, made a semi-final for Grand Slam. And then I wish, obviously this is all like hindsight, conjecture, whatever. I wish she just made a run to a Grand Slam and just won a Grand Slam without building up so much. Cause now her winning those 1000s, we've built her up to,

a Grand Slam champion when she hasn't gotten there yet. And I'm a bit worried. I think she has a great team behind her, but I'm a bit worried that I don't want to, I don't want it to just be like an almost or so close because I mean, it's me, she's so talented.

I rate her season an 8 out of 10. I know I said it's been a season of two halves but those two 1000 tournaments that she won and how she did it very very commendable for an 18 year old which was 17 at the time and then I think she's fizzled away the rest of this year but like I said she's 18 so

I know the expectations are a lot higher for her now but I think we need to bring them down just to let her figure herself out. So 8 out of 10 this season for Mirra. I think there's long way to go and I'm excited about it.

And then the next player we have is world number eight Madison Keys who this year played in two finals and won two titles out of those finals. Her win-loss record is 37-13 and that's about 74 % win percentage. With the two titles she won this year was Adelaide Open and then of course the Australian Open.

then after winning the Australian Open

she made the quarterfinals of French but then lost in the second and first round of the last two majors respectively. So again similar to Mirra a year of two halves.

this later part of the year she's been hindered by by injuries so that is something to look at but saying all of that I think I give her a 7.5 out of 10 for her season the biggest reason is because she finally won that Grand Slam and she did it in really really impressive fashion beating

world number two and then the world number one. So it's hard to look past that, but other than the earlier wins of the year in Adelaide and in Australia, it's been like a pretty lackluster year, no other finals. So that's where for me, Madison Key stands about 7.5 out of 10. Then next player.

who is world number seven at the moment. It's Elena Rybakina who has been in two finals this year and then has also won two titles. So 100 % record in the finals so far. her win loss record is 51-19 With the titles she won, they were both 500 level.

titles. So one was on clay in Strasbourg France and the other one was in China in Ningbo just last week. okay I know when I say this rating I'm gonna say the rating first and I'm gonna explain my reasons why it's harsh and I will say it's a harsh because number one I really like Elena. Number two I don't think she is where she should be.

in her tennis career.

And number three, my expectations are too high. Actually, my expectations are really high. So I always want more and better.

All right. So looking at Elena, the reason I gave her five out of 10 is she has won two titles, think all titles are difficult to win, honestly. So I'm not saying that because of the level, but it's because of her performances at other, like bigger events.

events where I think she should be contending for title so that's 1000s and grand slams and she's just been anonymous she's been anonymous she's been losing close matches as well like an elena of 18 months ago two years ago was the one that won in in that third set you trusted her to go out and win in the third set now if it wasn't for the third set I'm worried because I don't think she'll be able to do it

⁓ she made a couple of 1000 semi-finals, so it's good to see. But I expect more and I want more. So I think that's why that rating is so low. like I said, these ratings are based on expectations and history.

Next we've got world number six currently Jasmine Paolini who this year has been in two finals and has won one title so far and that was at the Italian Open. So about 50 % rating in finals. Her win-loss record is 32-10 with a 76 % winning percentage. So Jasmine, I'll start with my rating as well with her I gave her 6.5 out of 10. She

didn't match last year's performances so that was making two finals of a major back to back French and Wimbledon but she was still consistent enough in her tennis to maintain the top 10 spot and she also cemented it by winning another 1000 tournament when she won last year in Dubai a lot of people were saying that's just like a fluke so I'm glad she was able to

keep her place in the top 10 but also win another another big title and she's finishing the year of strong making quarters and semi-finals of some of these last tournaments that I left and she's also qualified for the WTA finals again. so quick and easy on Jasmine and then next one we've got world number five Jessica Pegula. So for Jess she's played it in six finals this year

And she has won three titles so far. So that was in Austin, Charleston and Bad Homburg. And Austin's 250 level Charleston 500 and Bad Homburg 500 as well. the win loss record is 50 19 and then winning percentage is 72%.

Looking at Jess, I rated her about a 6 out of 10 for her season.

Again, this is so far because there's still the WTA finals to be played. So caveat that with everything I've been saying. For Jess, no big titles this season. And for the most part, mediocre major performances except the US Open where she made the semis. And she hasn't... Well, I was going to say she hasn't had a breakthrough.

with the majors yet but she has in that she's over that quarterfinal hump that she she struggled with but i mean no breakthrough in that she hasn't won a slam yet and i said this in my one of my first videos making predictions i think jessica Pegula is going to i think she's declining

Yeah, I think she's declining and we saw it at the start of the year and then she's picked up in these last like six weeks But I Hope she can win a Grand Slam, but I don't think she'll be able to

Yeah so we're slowly starting to see the decline in Jess a bit and that consistency waiver which makes sense it's so hard to be consistent for so many years and sometimes not get anything out of it. All right and then after Jess we've got world number four Amanda Anisimova. So Amanda this year has been in five finals and she's won two titles so far

Both of them were 1000 level titles. So in Doha and then in Beijing and Her win loss record is 4516 with a 74 % winning percentage. I did mention the two titles she won. She did lose though in England at the Queens club.

then at Wimbledon and the US Open. Looking at Amanda, I gave her a season an 8.5 out of 10.

And like I said that would upgrade if she won the WTA finals to probably like a nine or like an eight point seven five. but the reason I gave her an eight point five is because she made a lot of breakthroughs in her season making the finals of two slams and then winning her biggest titles ever in the two 1000s and She was also a player I think she's had a solid

whole season. She's had a very complete full season. Some of the other players have had good patches or good halves whereas I think she's just been improving as the season has gone on which we can see from her slam results. So second round Australian Open, fourth round French Open, then the two finals. But then the finals she seems to lose herself in them I think she's getting more finals fit.

but US Open and Wimbledon, she was not finals fit. And when I say finals fit, mean.

being trained up in playing a full two weeks or for like one and a half weeks of tennis to then show your best at the finals. But because she's now made those slam finals multiple times going into next year, think she'd be like, let's go, let's do this. I am practice, I'm ready. But yeah, so like I said, she did make two slam finals. She lost them, but it's about expectations going into each of those finals. She wasn't the favorite.

So it doesn't hinder her rating as much as it does for other players, in my opinion.

Okay and then we are down to our top three players. so starting with world number three Coco Gauff. So Cori has been in four finals this year and has won two titles. I'm not counting the United Cup by the way. Anyway

and her win-loss record is 47-14 which is about 77 percent and then the two titles she's won so far, one was the French Open of course and then most recently the 1000 title in Wuhan and then she lost at the Madrid Open and the Italian Open. Looking at Coco season,

I rate her season about a 7 out of 10.

I could be harsher because again I have high expectations and hopes for Coco but she did win a slam so let me not lose my mind. So 7 out of 10. Because I mean those titles are she won the big titles. When it's time to play a big game she does it. She does it very well. But in saying all of that she doesn't play consistently well throughout the year.

I haven't seen a year, which again makes sense, she's only 22. 22, actually no, she's only 21. But I haven't seen Coco play consistently well from the beginning of the year to the end. Obviously people have bad patches in between, but for the most part they're players who can play well from beginning to end and she isn't one of them yet. Like I said, she's 21 so I'm sure she's working towards it.

But like I said, she works in patches and she works in really great patches because when she is in a good patch or a purple patch, she wins big titles. Her slam performances though, aside from the French Open win, were worse than the year before. So with the Australian Open, she made it to the quarterfinal.

But in 2024, she made the semis and then french open she won, of course then Wimbledon, she lost in the first round and US Open.

she lost in the fourth round. So pretty okay but

expectations are quite high so want to see what she'll do with them.

then

Next player is Iga Swiatek who is world number two of course So Iga's played in four finals this year and she's won three titles and those titles were Wimbledon

Cincinnati and Korean Open and then the final that she did lose was in Bad Homburg against Jessica Pegula. Then looking at her win-loss record it's 61-15 and that's about 80 % to winning record.

Iga It's hard to rate her because she's a victim of her own success. So by other people's standards, winning a slam and a thousand is pretty good for a season. But because she's had years where she's won multiple majors and four, 1000 titles, maybe more.

this year is okay, but then looking at how her year ended last year and how this year started or the talk around her, she's also proved a lot of people wrong. So I've given this year a 7.5 out of 10.

because comparing to her best.

It wasn't up there, but she still won a major and another big title And she hadn't won a title in over a year before winning at Wimbledon So Yeah, I don't know It's really comp. I think it goes very complex complex player to look at I think people figured her out and I think her tennis is At the moment one-dimensional. So if it works

in which it clearly has worked for like to win a major it's worked for two weeks straight it works well but there's been moments this year where she's lost early to people you wouldn't expect her to lose to or she's just completely lost her game so I don't know it's really hard to judge but that's all I'll say on Iga for now

And then last player, world number one of course is Aryna Sabalenka who has played in eight finals this year and has won four titles. So that's a 50 % record. And her win loss record is 59-11 with a winning percentage of 84%. So the titles she's won so far are Brisbane, which is 500 level. Then she won two 1000s, one in Miami, one in Madrid, and then she won

a major at the US Open. She did lose though at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, French Open and...

that's Stuttgart

So another one, this was hard for me to rate.

Because I think she's, well, she's definitely been consistent throughout the whole year. So starting from the Australian Open to the US Open, she's been consistent throughout the entire season and

she's done both so she's met expectations quite well but she's also fallen under the pressure of those expectations and then she's won a lot but she's lost a lot too in that she lost two slam finals but she probably the best performing player this year so i would have to give her a season

I'm tossing up between like an 8 or an 8.5 out of 10.

think because in 2024 she did win two slams

she was making slam finals but different from Amanda Anisimova these finals she should have been winning she was the favorite going in so that kind of hinders it more than it does for Amanda but I will be generous and say 8 or 8.5 out of 10 again if she wins WTA finals that will get upgraded because that's a title she is missing

Ending with Aryna Sabalenka for rating the top 10 players this year. And then I do have, a few other players that are not in the top 10, but I think are quite key in the tennis. All players are key in the tennis, in the tennis ecosystem. So I don't want to say something like that. So I'll quickly go through them and just give them a rating out of 10.

And then some of them I'll explain why some I won't I'll just give a rating and keep it pushing. And then we'll finish off with my end of season awards will just be quick quick. I don't even think I'll do too many explanations for that. But yeah. All right. So going to these other miscellaneous, they're not miscellaneous. Like I said, every player is important in the tennis ecosystem. We'll start with Qinwen Zheng

my birthday twin, 8th of October represent. So, um, Chin-Wen this year, it's been a topsy-turvy year, but so zero titles, zero finals, 20-12 win-loss record and about 63 % win, win percentage. I give her a four out of 10 for this season. And I think by her standards as well, she would probably agree. Her season has been hindered by injuries. So,

know it's difficult to say and her performances at the slams have not been great one quarterfinal which was

the French Open and then lost second round Australian Open and then first round Wimbledon and then didn't play US. So not too much to go off. and she's also falling out of the top 10 but again she hasn't been playing as much so it's bound to happen. Then next player I have listed here is Emma Navarro.

who this year has also fallen out of the top 10. She did win one title from her one final as well with a win-loss record of 30, 24 and 56 % winning percentage and to confirm the title she won was in Merida Mexico and that's a 500 level event. Emma I gave her 5 out of 10 for this season it was

relatively mediocre based on what she showed us last year because she only bettered one major result and that was the Australian Open whereas everything else either did the same or a lot worse and she rarely made the rounds that she was expected to make based on her seed so if you're an eighth seed you're expected to make quarterfinals and she wasn't doing that and

she regressed in a way because last year she was WTA's most improved player and then sometimes it's hard to match the results that you make in your first standout year because in tennis they always say it's not the first year that matters when you make a splash it's actually the second year to see if you can match those results or do better and this year she hasn't

But I also think with Emma Navarro, I think she plays better as an underdog. I think she's better in that range of being ranked between 10 and 25. But we'll see. Then next player, big name, always in conversations, is Naomi Osaka. So Naomi played in two finals this year, one zero titles.

I will preface this by saying the first final she played in which was in Auckland, she pulled out due to injury. She did win the first set 6-4 and then she did lose though in Canada in three sets to Victoria Mboko and Naomi's win-loss record is 35-15 with a win percentage of 70%.

Looking at Naomi's season, I rated it a 6 out of 10. I think she improved throughout the year. I think the start of the year was hindered a lot by injuries, but she's improved throughout the year. And then she made that big breakthrough finally that we've been waiting for at the Canada Open. I've been seeing it coming. Naomi hasn't, I think people were bit impatient with her,

I was waiting for that breakthrough and we did see it Canada Open, although she did lose, same at the US Open, the US Open, the semi-finals, she'd lost, but it was kind of confirmation that

that play is not gone because with tennis a lot is obviously skill

but eventually it comes to the mind.

But most importantly it's the mind and I think that's just what Naomi needs to fully fully fix and she'll be back on her way.

And Naomi ever since her comeback she's been steadily improving But again, she's a victim of her own success that people want things quick. They want the success quick They want the titles quick But she was gone. She had a child and everyone has a different timeline

Alright and then the next we've got Victoria Mboko. This year Victoria played in one final and won one title that was at the Canadian Open. I will say as well she won five challenger titles and then her win-loss record is 53-13 with an 80 % win percentage. Again it's a little bit skewed because for the beginning of the year she played a lot of matches on the challenger tour.

But for someone who was out with knee injury, not this year, but the past couple of years, she needed those tournaments to work her way up.

Victoria I rated her year a 9 out of 10 that's the highest rating I've given I think she had excellent debuts at the French Open and Wimbledon she didn't go deep into the tournaments like second weeks or anything but she made a splash and

when I watched her against Qinwen Zheng at the French Open she lost that match but

It felt like you were watching a seasoned player, and then you remember how young she is and then it makes sense that she lost. at some point I was like, she shouldn't lose this match. But yes, she's the real deal. She also won that thousand title win in Canada.

And that's what I saying about my ratings. They're based on like expectations and pressure and

potential so Victoria came in with no expectations and her being able to pull off that win in Canada is her surpassing those expectations that's why her ranking becomes so much higher and yeah she I was saying to my family she's got it like capital it but it can't be explained you just watch and you can tell if someone has it or doesn't

and she does. I just hope that injuries stay well well away from her and her career. then the next player we've got is Leylah Fernandez. Leylah has been in two finals this year and she's won two titles so 100 % record as well. Her win-loss record is 20-23 so that's the winning percentage of about 57%.

Layla is finishing the year quite strongly but I still rate her season 6.5 out of 10 because I think her Grand Slam performances were pretty quiet and she's not consistent enough yet but she's starting to improve tournament on tournament and she's starting to beat better level players or better quality opponents so people that are

equal to her or better than her. She's starting to find a way to beat them, which is good to see.

The next player here we've got is Jelena Ostapenko. So Ostapenko is in two finals this year. Won one title and that title was in Stuttgart. She won that against Aryna Sabalenka Her win-loss record is 18-20 so that's a 47 % win percentage. I'll be honest with you I rate Jelena's season 3 out of 10.

she's been anonymous at the Grand Slams and she didn't make fourth round of any tournament since the Italian Open. Saying all of that though there have been a couple of injuries here and there so that does obviously hinder your season but yeah

she's still quite young in terms of tennis she's essentially where you're meant to be at your peak which is 27 28 so we'll see i love watching austin penko play because you never know what you're going to get and i think that's part of the problem you never know what you're going to get so there's no consistency tournament on tournament or match for match

Right then another another big name that people like to talk about i've got emma raducanu so emma Has won no titles this year and it's been in no finals Her win loss record is 28 22 with a 58 win percentage I would say emma's season is about a five out of ten in my opinion it's kind of meh or mediocre but

a big improvement for her from 2024 and it's probably her best year since the the US Open win in 2021 because she's actually been able to play all the mandatory tournaments and other tournaments of course like the 250 and 500 level. She still hasn't made that breakthrough yet of winning another title that's not a Grand Slam or even making another final that's not a Slam. So

I think that would probably be what the coaches are looking at next year to, you know, make a breakthrough, make a final at least of any level of competition. But Emma's good. she's currently ranked number 29. So she would be seeded for the Australian Open, which I think would help her out a lot.

And then last but not least we've got Donna Vekic. So I've put Donna here because I think she had a great year last year and I just wanted to compare that against this year and foreshadowing it's not good. So for Donna, zero titles, zero finals this year. win-loss record is 12-22 with a win percentage of 35%.

rating Donna's season is about a one out of ten because there's not really much to say based on the stats I think they tell you a lot looking at the matches she's won compared to the matches she's lost and then that win percentage at 35 % and then I think it was also just a big decline from the year that she had last year she had her career best year and wasn't able to maintain that

But I also think maybe playing that well for a lot of last year, can take it out of you. Or took it out of Donna, which is sad to see, because she was highly touted But that's my input on some of these lovely player's seasons.

I mean, I hope they all improve for next year. There's not much else you can say.

And also I think tennis players sometimes I hope they do this because I do this for them. when I look at the top 10, I'm like there are thousands, hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people that play tennis, you know, from the me's who can kind of hit the ball over the net and the people that are really, really good that play college level or that are ranked in the thousands,

and you are in the top 10. You are one of the top 10 best tennis players right now. I think that's crazy. I hope that they do that just to like remind themselves when things are not going well that there are millions of people that play the sport and you can single me out as one of the top 10 best.

Okay and then moving to the final part just a bit fun, bit of fun, very quick, very quick, this will literally be like 30 seconds. I'm handing out my end of season awards. I know the season hasn't ended, there's still things to be played for and honestly they could skew my judgments a little bit but what can you do? So we'll start with my best

WTA singles player of the year. Drumroll please. That one goes to Aryna Sabalenka. Think we could have guessed. number one. Three Grand Slam finals, one slam. Most titles of the year so far. that's good enough. I think that could have been guessed. Then next category is best young player.

Drum roll please.

that one I have decided to award Mirra Andreeva. Again I don't even know what the parameters with this like what counts as a young player under 21?

because technically Coco would fit into this but Coco has been around for like 50 years so anyway Mirandreva well deserved two 1000 titles two slam quarterfinals big things expected can't wait to see then next category is most improved player drumroll please

I hope you guys are doing the drumroll. The Most Improved Player Award goes to Clara Tauson

this one I will explain in a little bit of detail why I gave it to Clara. Okay.

So Clara finished the year world number 52.

And then currently she's ranked at world number 12. So just outside the top 10. I think she's played a great year, been quite consistent. She made final for 1000 and she's had her best slam results this year as well. They haven't been amazing, but they've been good and she's been quite, quite consistent. So hopefully we'll see more improvement going into 2026. All right.

And then next category is newcomer of the year. Drum roll, please.

that goes to Victoria Mboko you could have guessed it as well so Victoria's made a splash she's made a big splash winning that 1000 tournament in her first proper year on the WTA Tour and honestly can't wait to see where she goes I am really really impressed

And I don't have too much else to say because I think I've said it already. Then the second last category I've got here is Comeback Queen. Drumroll, please. And that one I've awarded to Belinda Bencic

And Belinda came back from maternity leave in November of 2024. She was playing challenger events. And then she was back on the main tour in January. And from there, she's just, I'll be honest with you, I this to some of my other tennis enthusiasts around me. I don't think Belinda Bencic played this well before she had her child.

she's had a great year she made fourth round of her first slam back that was Australia open and then she

then she won a 500 level event in Abu Dhabi then she

went on to make the semi-finals of Wimbledon as well. I mean she's come back with a Vengeance and then she's made herself world number 13 already so I don't think there was anyone else that could have given that that title to.

And then last but not least, this category is this is my own personal personal one. And that is my Matipa's was standout player of the year. And that one goes to big drum roll, please.

Amanda Anisimova mean first of all I just have to say I don't know if I've said on this podcast Amanda Anisimova backhand is money. It's straight cash straight dollars like it's it's money I love her backhand

Yes, so I just had to make sure that was said at least once on this podcast but Amanda's had a first of all her story With Amanda specifically I saw her when she was 17 and made that semi-final of the French and I was the same age as well. So I don't know you kind of sometimes feel closer to players when you are growing up the same time as them and then

mental health challenges that she went through and was able to make a decision to take a break for herself in 2023. and doing that as someone who has high potential and high expectations and then coming back in 2024 and just grinding doing the work that needs to be done and then this year seeing that work pay off that investment you put in payoff and

based on the tennis side she's just I said it before she was steadily improving throughout the year and getting better and better and I'll be very honest I think the tour should be worried next year I think Aryna should be worried I think Iga should be worried I think Coco should be worried I think a lot of the players should be worried if she can maintain this consistency how she's playing right now yeah it's a bit scary but I'm

very very proud of her. I know she lost two slam finals but what can you do? You just keep pushing. It's happened to the best. So that's my standout player of the year and I hope she just keeps getting better.

But yes, that is the end of the episode. I want to thank you all so much for joining me again for listening. Please, please download the episode and any past episodes that you've listened to before. really does help. And if you can, I haven't been active on there, but please follow my Instagram or the podcast Instagram, which is EWWT podcast. And what else?

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