Best Stories from an Unpredictable 2025 WTA…

There was no telling who would hoist silverware throughout the 2025 WTA season.

With four different Grand Slam champions and two teenagers being crowned on the WTA 1000 stage, the tour made it difficult to highlight just a handful of stories, but here are some that topped the headlines this year.

Keys Unlocks First Grand Slam Title

It was a long and grueling wait for Madison Keys to get her hands on a major title. The American fell short in the 2017 US Open final, then dropped from the Top 10 to outside the Top 50 only four years ago.

However, Keys was back at her best in the years leading up to the biggest moment of her career – winning the Australian Open this January.

The 29-year-old defeated Danielle Collins and Elena Rybakina, two Top 10 seeds, en route to reaching the semifinals in Melbourne. Two wins away from the title, Keys saved match point to take down world No. 2 Iga Swiatek before powering herself to a win against defending champion and top-seed Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

Keys became the first player to beat the Top 2 in a major since 2009 and, nearly 16 years after making her WTA debut, she was the newest member of the Grand Slam champions club.

Andreeva Goes Back-to-Back in Historic Run

Something truly clicked for Mirra Andreeva when she stepped foot in Dubai. The teenager was the youngest player since Maria Sharapova in 2004 to defeat multiple Grand Slam champions in a single run, with wins over Marketa Vondrousova, Swiatek, and Rybakina.

Read also: Rybakina Wins WTA Finals

Andreeva then added more “youngest-since” feats to her resumé, beating Clara Tauson in the Dubai final to become the youngest player in the past 15 years to win a WTA 1000 title and break into the Top 10.

Her great form continued two weeks later in Indian Wells, where the 17-year-old once again picked up wins over Rybakina and Swiatek to reach the final against Sabalenka. Andreeva rallied from a set down to secure back-to-back WTA 1000 titles, also becoming the youngest player in 35 years to take down the Top 2 at an event.

She even scored a shoutout from NBA great Lebron James.

Teenage Dreams on Tour

Andreeva may have set the trend for a year of teenage breakthroughs. In Miami, 19-year-old Alexandra Eala earned her first Top 25 win over Jelena Ostapenko then stunned Top 5 players Keys and Swiatek, all in straight sets, to make the semis. Eala’s run ended in three sets to Jessica Pegula, but the result made her the first Filipina to crack the Top 100.

A few teens even got their hands on some maiden WTA silverware, like Iva Jovic at the Guadalajara 500 – the youngest current WTA champion – and Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah in her third tour main draw at the Sao Paolo 250.

There was also Maya Joint, who won two titles at age 19, including a thrilling win in Eastbourne over Eala in what was the youngest final at the tournament in over 40 years.

Oh, and who can forget about that run at the National Bank Open. More on that later.

Clay Season Didn’t Disappoint

Some might not be a fan of clay – just ask Daniil Medvedev – but this year’s time on the dirt had plenty remarkable stories.

In Rome, Jasmine Paolini ended a 40-year drought for Italians at the event, beating Gauff in the final. Paolini was even part of the Italian sweep as she doubled-up to take the doubles crown alongside countrywoman Sara Errani.

Then at Roland-Garros, it looked as if the Parisian crowd may get their first French champion since 2000 in the unfamiliar name of Loïs Boisson. In just her second WTA main draw, the world No. 361 upset the likes of Andreeva and Pegula on her trip to the semifinals.

Gauff, who had lost in the Madrid final as well, ended Boisson’s Cinderella run and was through to her third straight final, facing off with Sabalenka. Determined to end the clay season with a title, the American No. 1 overcame a tight opening-set loss and hoisted her first Grand Slam trophy in two years with a comeback win.

Mboko Magic in Montreal

When Victoria Mboko stepped onto her home court at the National Bank Open in Montreal, there was already some briming confidence from the 18-year-old.

The Canadian began the year on a 22-match win streak without dropping a set on the ITF scene, before securing some victories at the WTA 1000 and Grand Slam level. The success brought her up from No. 333 to inside the Top 100 heading into the NBO.

Mboko kicked off her time in Montreal with back-to-back straight-set wins, including a victory over former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin. The Torontonian later went on to stun top seed Gauff in the quarter-finals then won a three-set battle against Rybakina to reach the final. The teen was resilient and fed off the home crowd in the title match, responding in dominant fashion after conceding the first set to hoist the trophy in Montreal.

In just her seventh WTA main draw, Mboko became the youngest Canadian to win the NBO, as well as the youngest player to defeat four Grand Slam champions in a single event. The triumph brought her up to 25^th in the rankings and, thanks to another title in Hong Kong, the Canadian finished the season at a career-high of No. 18, 315 spots up from where she began the year.

The WTA's best return to Toronto next summer for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers Aug 1 to 13 at Sobeys Stadium. Click here for information about tickets.

Feature Photo: Pascal Ratthe