Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner crowned as ITF World Champions, while No. 1 Alcaraz misses out

On Wednesday, the winners of the 2025 ITF World Champions awards were announced, celebrating the best tennis players in each category—but not without a significant surprise. While Aryna Sabalenka was crowned the best female player, on the men's side, World No. 2 Jannik Sinner was awarded the top honor of the year, chosen over the Spanish World No. 1, Carlos Alcaraz.

It is a particular situation considering that the Spaniard finished the year ranked higher than the Italian. However, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) designates its champion based on the majority opinion of performances throughout the year, emphasizing the Grand Slam tournaments, as well as team events like the Davis Cup or Billie Jean King Cup.

The ITF also announced the winners in the doubles categories, where there was also a notable snub of the No. 1 men's and women's pairs. The duo of Marcel Granollers (No. 5) and Horacio Zeballos (No. 6) were named the best of the season, despite two pairs being ranked higher than them: Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash (No. 1 and 2), and Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten (No. 3).

A similar situation unfolded on the women's side, as Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini (No. 3) were the ITF's choice, selected over the dominant duo of the season, Katerina Siniakova (No. 1) and Taylor Townsend (No. 2).

Jannik Sinner took home the category's top prize following a remarkable season in which he won 6 titles and finished with a 58-6 record. His three-month absence due to injury did not prevent him from holding the World No. 1 spot for a good part of the year, and he fought to finish the year as the ranking leader until the ATP Finals—where Alcaraz finally secured the necessary points to end the season atop the ATP hierarchy. Sinner’s case was bolstered by the weight of his trophies: he claimed two Grand Slams (Australian Open and Wimbledon) in addition to the prestigious ATP Finals.

His main adversary was Carlos Alcaraz, who secured 8 titles—highlighted by two majors at Roland Garros and the US Open—and compiled a total record of 71-9 for the season. The Spaniard - who recently split from his longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero - also held the head-to-head advantage, defeating Sinner in four of their six meetings this season, all of which occurred in finals. However, the ITF prioritized Sinner's consistency on the biggest stages and his victories in team competitions.

On the women's side, Aryna Sabalenka claimed the ITF World Champion trophy for the second time, following a stellar season where she captured her fourth Grand Slam title at the US Open, in addition to reaching the finals of the Australian Open and Roland Garros.

A 63-12 season record and 4 titles in 9 finals played mark one of the best seasons of her career, securing a new award that continues to confirm her status as the best female tennis player in the world today. The 27-year-old previously won the award back in 2023.

The ITF has shown more than once that rankings do not necessarily guide the award, a trend that has become increasingly common. In fact, Carlos Alcaraz has never won the award, despite finishing both the 2022 and 2025 seasons as No. 1. Three years ago, it was Rafael Nadal—champion of two major titles during that season—who took the ITF prize.

While the award aligned with the year-end rankings in the following years (Djokovic in 2023 and Sinner in 2024), history offers other precedents. Back in 2013, Novak Djokovic took the ITF prize despite finishing No. 2 behind Rafael Nadal. This dynamic is also present in the women's game: Sabalenka received the prize for the first time in 2023—a year Swiatek finished as the ranking leader—while the Pole was the winner in 2024, despite the Belarusian finishing at the top of the WTA rankings that season.