Aryna Sabalenka remains as world number one after winning the US Open for a second year running.
Sabalenka defended her US Open title after beating Amanda Anisimova in the final to lift her fourth Grand Slam.
This is the first major title that the world number one has won in 2025, with Sabalenka losing in the Roland Garros final to Coco Gauff, and the Australian Open final to Madison Keys.
Despite solidifying her place at the top of the WTA rankings after winning the US Open, Sabalenka has been warned that a player could be hot on her heels.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty ImagesRick Macci backs Iga Swiatek to overtake Aryna Sabalenka as world number one ‘real soon’
As the defending champion, Sabalenka has been unable to gain any ranking points from her US Open win, but she has maintained a healthy lead at the top of the WTA rankings.
Sabalenka currently leads world number two and Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek by 3,233 points, as we approach the latter stages of the 2025 season.
Despite the significant lead that Sabalenka has, Serena Williams’ former coach Rick Macci believes that Swiatek will return to world number one in the near future.
Macci wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), “The Punisher is ready to reach for the sky go to another level and really fly. Her happy feet and little steps are one and the same as she pops the Polish popcorn the best in the game. Look for Punisher to shoot for the moon and I have no doubt she will be number one real soon.”
The Punisher is ready to reach for the sky go to another level and really fly. Her happy feet and little steps are one in the same as she pops the Polish popcorn the best in the game. Look for Punisher to shoot for the moon and I have no doubt she will be number one real soon.…
— Rick Macci (@RickMacci) September 10, 2025
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Swiatek is realistically the only player who can overtake Sabalenka this year, as world number three Gauff has 2,690 ranking points to defend until the end of the year.
The gap between Sabalenka and Swiatek is closer than it looks on the surface at the moment, as the Belarusian has 1,615 points coming off her ranking before 2026.
However, after Swiatek was banned for a month last year, she only has 400 points to defend and has an opportunity to gain on her rival.
WTA RankingsCurrent ranking point totalPoints defending this yearPoints in the WTA Race1. Aryna Sabalenka11,2251,6159,6102. Iga Swiatek7,9334007,533
That all being said, it is still Sabalenka who is in pole position to end the year as world number one, with a 2,077 point lead over Swiatek in the WTA race.
WTA Players who have been year-end number one two years in a row
Sabalenka ended the year as world number one for the first time in 2024, and she will be looking to join an exclusive group of players who have done it in back-to-back seasons.
The WTA rankings began back in 1975, and there have been a total of 29 world number ones since then, with 16 of those finishing the year at the top of the rankings.
Only 12 of those players have ended the year as world number one in back-to-back seasons, and Sabalenka will be looking to make that 13 in 2025.
Some of the names on this exclusive list include Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, Swiatek and Martina Navratilova, with the latter ending the year as world number one for a remarkable five consecutive years between 1982 and 1986.
Year-end number oneConsecutive years they achieved this featChris Evert 1975-1977, 1980-1981Martina Navratilova1978-1979, 1982-1986Steffi Graf 1987-1990, 1993-1996Monica Seles1991-1992Martina Hingis1999-2000Lindsay Davenport2004-2005Justine Henin2006-2007Caroline Wozniacki2010-2011Serena Williams 2013-2015Simona Halep2017-2018Ash Barty2019-2021Iga Swiatek2022-2023
The reason why it is such an impressive feat to end the year as world number one is because it means you have been the best player throughout the entire season.
Sabalenka will look to confirm her place in the history books when she heads to Asia, with her next scheduled tournament at the China Open, which begins on Wednesday, September 24.