Aryna Sabalenka is aiming for some stability as she secured the year-end world number one ranking for a second consecutive year.
Another good season for Sabalenka as she has ended 2025 as the world number one with her US Open triumph being the highlight of the season.
It may not have been as successful as Sabalenka was hoping but it was a proud year for the world number one who ends the season at the top of the rankings.
Now Sabalenka is hoping to build on the year she has had as she targets some stability next season, “It means a lot,” Sabalenka was quoted by tennis365 as saying.
“It just tells how consistent I am as a player, which is crazy to think. If you go back like five years ago, if someone would tell me I’ll be that consistent, I would be shocked. It just tells me that the hard work pays off.
“I really hope that I will just keep doing what I’m doing.”
It wasn’t a smooth year for Sabalenka despite ending the year as world number one after suffering some brutal defeats in big moments this season.
First up it was a loss to Madison Keys at the Australian Open final before another brutal loss in the Roland Garros final to Coco Gauff.
Ahead of the season-ending finale showdown in Riyadh, Sabalenka detailed how she learned from those lessons in order to make her a better player this season, “I mean, it was tough. It was really tough. It was tough lessons. But, at the end, I think it was much-needed lessons,” Sabalenka explained.
“I had to learn how to control myself even better. Even though I improved a lot in that part of the game, still, you know, not good enough. I think in those big finals, that’s one thing that was missing, was my emotions.
“I think especially after Roland Garros and the media and everything that happened after the match, I just had to sit back and look at everything from the side, and take better control over my emotions.
“It was really tough. But I spend so much time and years in this sport to [not] just give up after a couple losses in the finals, which is not the first round. It means I’m just there, I need to learn something, improve it and try better.
“After winning the US Open, I was actually quite grateful for those lessons.”
It was clear Sabalenka learned from those lessons as she turned her Wimbledon semi-final defeat to Amanda Anisimova into revenge in the US Open final.
Now Sabalenka aims to end her year on a high in Saudi Arabia as she will begin her WTA Finals campaign against Jasmine Paolini.
