“Wide open.” “Chaotic.” “Anything can happen.”
Once upon a time, early in this decade, these phrases made the rounds before every significant WTA event. And not without some reason. When Serena Williams descended from her throne in the late 2010s, no one was able to step up and fill it for long.
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Naomi Osaka leapt into, and back out of, the spotlight. Ashleigh Barty abdicated. Paula Badosa, Anett Kontaveit, Maria Sakkari, and Barbora Krejcikova rose into the Top 3, and fell out of it in a hurry. Was a dominant No. 1 even possible in an age of greater depth? Was Serena’s act just too hard to follow? Finally, in 2022, Iga Swiatek grabbed the No. 1 ranking and didn’t let go. Soon after, Aryna Sabalenka joined her in a ruling duopoly.
Today, looking at the qualifiers for the 2025 WTA Finals in Riyadh, we can see that the rest of the Top 8 has settled down and fallen in line behind them. For the third straight year, Sabalenka, Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula, are in the field. For the second straight year, they’ll be joined by Jasmine Paolini. Madison Keys, who qualified at No. 7, has been here before, and is hardly a flash in the pan. The only genuine surprise is Amanda Anisimova at No. 4. Even in her case, though, the talent has always been obvious.
Consistency. Reliability. Resilience. They may not be rousing words, or qualify as clickbait, but they may be the under-the-radar story of the year on the women’s side. Many of the Top 8 have demonstrated one of those qualities at some point in 2025.
