Aryna Sabalenka is one of tennis’ most intriguing assets at the moment, as quite comfortably the best player on the WTA Tour.
And yet, despite that relatively undeniable notion, the sport’s very biggest title continues to elude her.
It is a truly inexplicable phenomenon, capped off by a top year where she only came away with one major title. Given how she dominated such large parts of the year, it feels like she should be finishing 2025 with more.
And that is exactly the strange notion that Aryna Sabalenka must fix in 2025, having consistently put herself in the frame for these elite titles, but for whatever reason, being unable to convert that into silverware.
Aryna Sabalenka came so close to winning every major title this year
Sabalenka’s year, despite being hugely successful once again, will likely be more crucially remembered for the near-misses she has suffered.
After all, kickstarting her year in Melbourne, her title defence was shockingly curtailed in the final as she lost to Madison Keys against all the odds.
Regardless, it still represented a strong run, laying the foundation for a year of further triumph.
However, Sabalenka would repeat that same feat in Paris, just with a different opponent in the final. Her loss to Coco Gauff was a crushing one, made even tougher after Sabalenka came under fire for her comments after the Roland Garros final.
It really felt like 2025 would just not be her year when Amanda Anisimova knocked her out of Wimbledon in the semi-finals, but the Belarusian would not be denied in New York, cruising to victory to secure a fourth Grand Slam title of her career.
And yet, it was almost a return to form at the WTA Finals, once again storming into the latter stages only to lose rather unexpectedly, falling at the final hurdle.
Aryna Sabalenka could dominate 2026
Although it might seem strange to say after all the near-misses that have just been listed, but 2026 could be the year where Sabalenka truly dominates the WTA Tour.
After all, had three or four tight matches gone her way, she could have finished this year with almost every major honour that was on offer.
Her loss in Melbourne came in a deciding set, whilst in Paris she actually conspired to lose despite being a set up.
Similarly, against Anisimova at Wimbledon, their match was supremely tight, won in the third set by the American 6-4.
She is so close to these elite honours and will likely benefit from the fact that most of her outstanding rivals do not seem set to be quite as competitive.
Rybakina always poses a threat, but lacks the consistency to challenge often. Meanwhile, Gauff is currently completely revamping her entire game, whilst Iga Swiatek’s mid-season purple patch seems over too.
Sabalenka was within touching distance of every elite title this year. Perhaps these near-misses will act as fuel for a legendary 2026 campaign.
