The 2025 WTA Tour season was one of the strongest in recent memory, and several key stars made significant breakthroughs over the past twelve months.
Amanda Anisimova, Mirra Andreeva, and Ekaterina Alexandrova were among those who made their top-10 WTA Rankings debuts this season, and all eyes will now be on who can make similar progress in 2026.
Here, we name five WTA Tour stars who could break into the top 10 for the very first time in 2026.
Clara Tauson
Current Ranking: 12th
Career-high Ranking: 12th
Long-recognised as one of the brightest talents in the women’s game, Tauson soared up the WTA Rankings in 2025 — and could be in line for a huge 2026 campaign.
The Dane ended 2024 ranked 52nd in the world but scaled to a stunning new career-high of 12th by the end of 2025, her season highlighted by her run to the Auckland Open title in January.
After spells with injury, that was the 23-year-old’s first title in almost four years, and she would later reach her first WTA 1000 final in Dubai, before progressing to the last four of the Canadian Open.
Tauson’s big-hitting game and huge serving are her most significant assets, and she is in touching distance of a huge breakthrough in the opening months of next year.
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Linda Noskova
Current Ranking: 13th
Career-high Ranking: 13th
Similar to Tauson, a career-best 2025 season has placed world No 13 Noskova at a staggering career-high ahead of what could be a landmark 2026 for the Czech ace.
Noskova did not win a WTA title this year but reached three finals, most significantly progressing to her first WTA 1000-level final at the China Open in Beijing.
The 21-year-old struggled in the opening months of the season but was incredibly strong during the second half of 2025, and made both her top 20 and top 15 rankings debuts.
One of the best servers on the WTA Tour, Noskova looks set to be the latest in a long line of Czech stars competing at the very top of the women’s game.
Liudmila Samsonova
Current Ranking: 17th
Career-high Ranking: 12th
Samsonova has been a well-established figure on the WTA Tour for a number of years, and always seems capable of pushing the very best on her day.
Consistency has been a key issue for the Russian across her career but 2025 proved to be a strong year for her, with her year-end ranking of 17th up ten places from 2024.
The 27-year-old reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon and also made the fourth round of Roland Garros, alongside reaching the final in Strasbourg.
A clean and composed ballstriker, Samsonova could be a dark horse for a top-10 debut in 2026 — similarly to compatriot Alexandrova this year.
Victoria Mboko
Current Ranking: 18th
Career-high Ranking: 18th
Few WTA players broke through quite as dramatically as Mboko in 2025, and all eyes will be on how the Canadian fares as she looks to back up her success in 2026.
Mboko was outside the top 300 at the start of the year before a stellar run on the ITF Tour, though she then propelled herself inside the top 30 after her stunning Canadian Open triumph.
The 19-year-old struggled to back that up initially, though she then captured her second WTA Tour title in Hong Kong — and proceeded to crack the top 20 as a result.
With limited points to defend across the opening months of the year, Mboko has the prime opportunity to surge up the WTA Rankings this season.
Diana Shnaider
Current Ranking: 21st
Career-high Ranking: 11th
After a breakout 2024 campaign, Shnaider went through somewhat of a sophomore slump in 2025, with the Russian dropping back down the WTA Rankings.
However, despite a challenging season, the 21-year-old is only just outside the top 20 of the WTA Rankings, and will now have the chance to surge back up the standings across 2026.
There is no doubting Shnaider’s potential, and the star is already the winner of five WTA Tour titles, despite only playing on tour for three seasons.
Having reached world No 11 in the opening months of 2025, a resurgent Shnaider could be one to watch over the next twelve months.
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