WTA announced all annual award winners at once, with Zheng Qinwen retaining the fan favorite title, and Djokovic hiring a scientist

In just three minutes a day, stay updated on global tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Tuesday, December 16, 2025. Welcome to the midday news report brought to you by "Tennis Home."

Early this morning Beijing time, the WTA unveiled the winners for the 2025 season annual awards. Compared to the ATP’s approach of announcing one or two awards per day, the WTA disclosed all recipients simultaneously. Among them, the Player of the Year award went to world No. 1 Sabalenka, marking her second consecutive year receiving this honor. Throughout the year, the Belarusian player maintained the top world ranking, set a new record for single-season prize money, and led in multiple statistics including tour titles, finals appearances, and match wins, making her award well deserved.

The Doubles Team of the Year award was claimed by the Siniakova/Townsend pair. This year, the duo won the Australian Open title and finished runner-up at the US Open. Townsend reached No. 1 in doubles for the first time, while Siniakova secured her fifth year-end No. 1 doubles ranking. Their selection was fully justified.

The Most Improved Player of the Year award went to American star Anisimova. This season, Anisimova reached two Grand Slam finals, captured two WTA 1000 titles, broke into the top ten world rankings for the first time, and ended the year ranked fourth globally, truly the fastest riser.

The Best Newcomer of the Year award was given to Canadian rising star Mboko. This year, she lifted her first WTA 1000 trophy on home soil, rocketing from outside the top 300 at the start of the year to finish ranked eighteenth worldwide.

The Comeback Player of the Year award was earned by Swiss star Bencic. After returning from maternity leave this season, Bencic won two WTA 500 titles and reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time, climbing from outside the top 400 at the start of the year to finish ranked eleventh, making her comeback honor well deserved.

The WTA Fan Favorite Singles Player award, voted by fans, was won by China’s top player Zheng Qinwen, marking her second consecutive year holding the fan queen title. Moreover, Zheng’s semifinal match against American star Gauff at the Rome tournament was named the WTA Match of the Year for 2025. Unfortunately, Zheng lost 1-2 to Gauff in that contest.

The WTA Fan Favorite Doubles Player award went to Italy’s powerhouse Paolini.

Additionally, the fan-voted 2025 WTA Best Moments on Tour were also revealed. Highlights include: WTA 1000 - Philippines’ top player Iela reaching the Miami semifinals, making history for Philippine tennis; WTA 500 - American legend Venus Williams returning to competition with a win at Washington; WTA 250 - Australian young talent Jonté dramatically defeating Iela in the final at the Eastbourne event to claim the title.

Now turning to Novak Djokovic. Recently, foreign media reported that Djokovic’s team has added a new member. Ahead of the new season, the Serbian star hired a sports science expert named Mark Kovac, who specializes in areas including exercise physiology, biomechanics, physical training, and injury prevention. Kovac has previously worked with American players such as Gauff, Keys, Stephens, and Isner, earning a good reputation in the field.

Next, a tournament update. Last night Beijing time, the ATP250 Hong Kong Tennis Open, scheduled for January 5-11 next year, confirmed its participant lineup, including Italian veteran Sonego, French rising star Fils, and A. Muller. Additionally, China’s top male player Bu Yunchaokete will compete in the qualifying rounds, aiming to secure a main draw spot.

Finally, a guessing game. The following photo shows a player taking a selfie in front of a mirror. Without any hints, can you identify who she is?

Last time’s guessing game was correctly answered by tennis fan “Liu Yang” from Shanghai. That’s right, the person in the picture is Czech star Muchova. This “Liu Yang” is truly a tennis enthusiast, managing to correctly guess many challenging questions. Impressive!

(Source: Tennis Home Author: The Independent)