The WTA season came to an end and there were some changes to the rankings throughout the course of 2024.
Some new faces broke into the elite group, while a new player was rewarded for her impressive campaign by finishing the season at the summit of women’s tennis.
But as we get to enter a new season, the somewhat unpredictable WTA Tour will surely throw up some more surprises over the next 12 months.
That being said, with players keen to make an impression and others under pressure to keep their spot, The Tennis Gazette will predict how the WTA top 10 will look come the end of 2025.
What will be the WTA’s top 10 at the end of 2025?
1 Aryna Sabalenka
2 Coco Gauff
3 Iga Swiatek
4 Elena Rybakina
5 Qinwen Zheng
6 Emma Navarro
7 Jessica Pegula
8 Jasmine Paolini
9 Paula Badosa
10 Mirra Andreeva
There will be some changes in the WTA’s top 10 in a year’s time but not at the very top of the rankings. Aryna Sabalenka finished 2024 as the year-end number one and she will be keen to keep that momentum going.
She is the favourite to clinch the Australian Open for a third successive year, and will be the favourite to dominate on hard courts once again, and she certainly has the game to do well at Wimbledon.
With her new coach and technique on the forehand continuing to improve, the only way is up for Coco Gauff. The WTA Finals champion looks like a player that will be more consistent in 2025 and enters the year without the pressure of defending a Grand Slam.
Iga Swiatek will once again have a solid year but now with a new coach of her own and needing time to adjust to his guidance, players will look to take advantage of her potential vulnerability, especially early in the year as she looks to peak in time for the French Open.
Elena Rybakina will move back into the top four as she settles into life with new coach Goran Ivanisevic, but she will have a solid year if she can stay fit and will be a huge threat at the majors, especially Wimbledon, where she triumphed in 2022.
Emma Navarro and Qinwen Zheng, who were new faces in the top 10 this past season, will each solidify their places in the elite group. Jessica Pegula meanwhile, will find it tough to climb any higher, and Jasmine Paolini will suffer a slide down the rankings, falling to number eight.
The final two places will be occupied by the reigning Paula Badosa, who ended 2024 strong after injury and will be aiming to play a full season in 2025.
The last spot will be occupied by teenager Mirra Andreeva, who is currently number 16 in the world and made a great impression in 2024 when she reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final at the French Open.
After winning her first title in Lasi this year, the Russian will continue to grow in 2025 and some big wins will see her crack the top 10 for the first time ahead of Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejčíková, who is the current World number 10.
Who are the outside contenders to get into the WTA’s top 10 by the end of 2025?
There are some honourable mentions for other players who have a shot of finishing 2025 inside the WTA’s top 10.
Danielle Collins spent some time inside the top 10 this past season and after reversing her retirement decision, a refreshed and energised Collins, who is ranked 11 at present, can cause plenty of problems.
Another youngster in Diana Shnaider, who won all her four career titles in 2024, is also knocking on the door of the top 10.
If the powerful Jelena Ostapenko can go a solid run as she has done in the past, she cannot be counted out returning to the top 10.
If Anna Kalinskaya, the current World number 14, can break her duck and win her first title in 2025, she will also be in with an outside chance of finishing 2025 in the top 10.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
