The WTA’s year-end awards are not one vote but several. International tennis media choose the Player of the Year and the other four player awards. The players themselves choose the sportsmanship and player-service awards and the tournaments of the year. WTA Registered Coaches choose the Coach of the Year, and fans vote on wtatennis.com for their favourites and the match of the year. The winners are announced in December, after the WTA Finals have closed the season.
The awards sit apart from the rankings. The year-end No. 1 is a separate matter, settled by the ranking published after the Finals, as set out in WTA year-end No. 1 explained.
Who votes for what
- International tennis media: Player of the Year, Doubles Team of the Year, Most Improved Player, Newcomer of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year.
- WTA Registered Coaches: Coach of the Year.
- The players: the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award, the Peachy Kellmeyer Player Service Award and the Tournament of the Year awards.
- Fans: Singles and Doubles Fan Favorite, Match of the Year and the Moments of the Year, voted at wtatennis.com/awards.
- Not stated: the WTA has not said publicly who chooses the Jerry Diamond ACES Award.
The men’s tour splits its awards in a similar way, with different electorates for some categories; the comparison is in ATP Awards explained.
The five player awards, voted by media
Player of the Year, Doubles Team of the Year, Most Improved Player and Newcomer of the Year have been given since 1977. Comeback Player of the Year followed in 1978. The WTA publishes shortlists in November, and the media panel then votes; the nominee lists are not a fan vote. In 2025 the WTA said the winners “were voted on by international media members”.
Aryna Sabalenka won Player of the Year in 2024 and again in 2025, when she took almost 80 per cent of the media vote. Over the past 25 years, only Serena Williams, Iga Swiatek and Sabalenka have won it in consecutive years. The first winner, in 1977, was Virginia Wade. Steffi Graf holds the record with eight, from 1987 to 1990 and 1993 to 1996; Martina Navratilova and Serena Williams won seven each.
The Doubles Team of the Year goes to a partnership, not two individuals. How the doubles game and its formats work is in how tennis doubles works.
Coach of the Year
The Coach of the Year is chosen by the coaches. In 2025 it went to Hendrik Vleeshouwers, who has coached Amanda Anisimova since the 2024 grass season, “earning the vote of WTA Registered Coaches”. In 2024 it went to Renzo Furlan, Jasmine Paolini’s coach. What a coach may do during matches is a separate question, covered in tennis coaching rules explained.
The awards players vote on
Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award. Given since 1987, when the first winner was Anne Minter, to the player who best shows professionalism, attitude and a sense of fair play. Ons Jabeur won it in 2023 and 2024. The 2025 award went to Jessica Pegula [UNVERIFIED: 2025 Krantzcke winner — the WTA release of 19 Dec 2025 names Pegula, but the 2025 row of the WTA 2026 record book, as extracted, appears to place Shuko Aoyama in that column; confirm before publishing].
Peachy Kellmeyer Player Service Award. Given since 1977 and named after a long-time WTA employee who is in the International Tennis Hall of Fame; how the Hall chooses its members is in Tennis Hall of Fame explained. Gabriela Dabrowski won it in 2025, the fourth time the player body had voted for her. In 2024 Jabeur won both this award and the sportsmanship award, the first player to win both in consecutive years.
Tournament of the Year. The players also choose the best tournament at each level. In 2025 the Cincinnati Open won at WTA 1000 level for the first time, Charleston won at WTA 500 level for the fourth year in a row, and the Hong Kong Tennis Open kept the WTA 250 award. In 2024 Indian Wells won the WTA 1000 award for the 15th time and the 11th year running. The 2025 list also named Progress Awards at each level and a Tournament Team of the Year for each region, with Cincinnati for the Americas, the China Open for Asia-Pacific and Rome for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The Jerry Diamond ACES Award
Named after former WTA CEO Jerry Diamond and given since 1995, when Arantxa Sanchez Vicario was the first winner, the ACES Award honours a player who promotes women’s tennis to fans, media and local communities. Coco Gauff won it in 2025 and Sabalenka in 2024. The WTA’s announcements do not say who makes the choice.
The fan awards
Fans vote on wtatennis.com for their favourite singles player and doubles player, the match of the year and the moments of the year at WTA 1000, 500 and 250 level. Zheng Qinwen was the 2025 Singles Fan Favorite. The 2025 Match of the Year was Gauff’s 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(4) win over Zheng in the Rome semifinals.
When the awards are announced
Nominations come out in the second half of November, once the Finals are over, and the winners follow over a week in December, during the off-season. In 2024 the player-award nominees were published on 20 November and Awards Week ran from 9 to 13 December. In 2025 the nominees came on 17 November; the player awards were announced on 15 December, the tournament and fan awards on 16 December, and Coach of the Year and the player-service awards on 19 December.
Winners in 2025 and 2024
- Player of the Year: 2025 Aryna Sabalenka; 2024 Aryna Sabalenka.
- Doubles Team of the Year: 2025 Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend; 2024 Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini.
- Most Improved Player: 2025 Amanda Anisimova, the only player nominated in two categories that year; 2024 Emma Navarro.
- Newcomer of the Year: 2025 Victoria Mboko; 2024 Lulu Sun.
- Comeback Player of the Year: 2025 Belinda Bencic; 2024 Paula Badosa.
- Coach of the Year: 2025 Hendrik Vleeshouwers; 2024 Renzo Furlan.
- Peachy Kellmeyer Player Service Award: 2025 Gabriela Dabrowski; 2024 Ons Jabeur.
- Jerry Diamond ACES Award: 2025 Coco Gauff; 2024 Aryna Sabalenka.
Player of the Year is a vote, not a formula. The ranking side of the season is covered in WTA rankings explained and WTA Race to the Finals explained, and the Finals’ own roll of honour is in most WTA Finals titles.
Season Snapshot — 11 November 2026
The 2026 WTA Finals are under way at Indian Wells and finish on 15 November. The WTA has not yet published nominees for the 2026 player awards. Last year’s nominees came on 17 November and the winners in the week of 15 December.
This snapshot is dated and will change. The career record above does not.
