“Y’ll Can’t Touch Me” – Coco Gauff Flaunts Arcade Dominance as Musical Outing With Boyfriend Ends on a Gaming High

With the WTA finals finishing up in Riyadh, the 2024 WTA season came to an end. The year saw Aryna Sabelanka ending the season as the World No. 1 for the first time in her career, followed by Iga Swiatek at No. 2 and Coco Gauff at No.3.

The players will be now looking forward to the 2025 season, intent on holding on to their ranking or breaking into the higher rungs. For Aryna Sabalenka, 2025 will be a huge challenge as the Bealsruain has 6000 points to defend from her two Major victories and two WTA 1000 titles this year. Similarly, Swiatek will have almost 6000 points to defend herself from her Roland Garros run and four WTA 1000 titles in the 2024 season.

An early-round exit for the duo at any of the title defenses will see major shifts in the ranking. This will open the door for World No. 3 Coco Gauff to ascend to the top two spots. The American does not have too many points to defend and her new coaching collaboration with Matt Daly might as well see her win some big titles. With Swiatek and Sabalenka slipping up, Gauff will have an outside chance of finishing as the World No. 1 next year.

Two other players who might end up in the top 5 along with the above-mentioned trio are Elena Rybakina and Zheng Qinwen. The Kazakh player won three titles in the year but had to withdraw from multiple events due to injuries and illness. She will be one of the top contenders at the Majors and the WTA 1000 events if she can stay healthy throughout the season.

Zheng has been one of the most improved players in the 2024 season. Making it to her maiden Major final at Melbourne this year, the Chinese player has made waves on the Tour, winning the Olympic gold and titles in Palermo and Tokyo. She could be one of the prime contenders, who could stand against Swiatek on clay as seen at the Olympics.

Badosa and Shnaider could break into the top 10 in the WTA year-end rankings next year

Paula Badosa and Diana Shnaider are two players who are in prime position to finish in the top 10 next year. Badosa, the former World No. 2, had a great second half of the 2024 season, winning the Citi Open, and reaching the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open, China Open, and Ningbo Open. Diana Shnaider has won four titles this season, across all three surfaces, and will look to continue her good form.

Three players who could lose their Top 10 spots next year are Jasmine Paolini, Emma Navarro, and Barbora Krejcikova. 2024 was a breakthrough year for Paolini and Navarro and it will be interesting to see if the two can hold on to their form.

A major chunk of Krejcikova’s points came from her Wimbledon triumph this year, and if she does not do well in other events next year, she might drop from the top 10. This will open the door for 11th-ranked Danielle Collins to finish in the Top 10 since the American player decided to continue her career next year.

Jessica Pegula and Daria Kasatkin can be expected to hold on to their spots in the top 10 as the 2025 season ends.