Naomi Osaka, Zheng Qinwen, and 3 more Top-25 WTA players who missed a title as 2025 season comes to an end

Naomi Osaka and Zheng Qinwen found varying degrees of success in the 2025 season. While Osaka enjoyed big breakthroughs after returning from maternity leave, Zheng struggled with injuries.

There were, however, a few similarities between their seasons: the lack of titles. Overall, five top-25 players went the year without winning a title. Here, we take a look at their seasons and how they managed to hold onto their position in the rankings.

---

#1 Linda Noskova

Toray Pan Pacific Open - Day 3 - Source: Getty

Linda Noskova enjoyed a career-best season in 2025, reaching No. 13 in the rankings. She played consistently at Tour events, but faltered on the big stage, including the Grand Slams.

The Czech made it past the third round at only one of the four Slams, the US Open, losing in the last 16 to Karolina Muchova.

Noskova had multiple chances to anchor her season with a trophy. The first came on home soil at Prague, but she lost the summit clash to compatriot Marie Bouzkova. She made her biggest final at the WTA 1000 event in Beijing but came up short against Amanda Anisimova. She also lost in the final to Belinda Bencic in Tokyo.

---

#2 Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka at the 2025 US Open. (Source: Getty)

This season, Naomi Osaka showed flashes of the form that took her to four Grand Slam titles and the World No. 1 ranking a few years ago.

After a quiet start to the year, Osaka made her biggest final in over three years at Toronto. She came agonisingly close to the title but was denied by teen sensation Victoria Mboko in three sets.

While that was the only final that the Japanese made this year, she had a few semifinal finishes. The most notable of these came at the US Open, where she was beaten by Amanda Anisimova.

Osaka won a title, albeit at the WTA125 level. Her run at the Open de Saint-Malo set the ball rolling for her strong second half of the year.

---

#3 Zheng Qinwen

Zheng Qinwen at the 2025 China Open. (Source: Getty)

Zheng Qinwen played sporadically throughout the 2025 season due to a right elbow injury, which required surgery in July.

The Chinese has only participated in one tournament since, her home event in Beijing. She made the second round but was forced to withdraw from her encounter against Linda Noskova.

Zheng did not even make it to a final this year, with her best results being a semifinal run at Rome and a quarterfinal finish at the French Open. As a result, her ranking dropped outside the top 20 (currently at No. 24) from a career-high of No. 7.

---

#4 Liudmila Samsonova

Liudmila Samsonova at the Wuhan Open. (Source: Getty)

A big striker of the tennis ball, Liudmila Samsonova can blow any opponent off the court when in form. She first made waves in 2022 by reaching and winning her first four Tour finals.

The Russian did make one final this year, at the WTA 500 event in Strasbourg. She came close to lifting the trophy, but lost to Elena Rybakina in the final in three sets.

Nonetheless, Samsonova enjoyed her career-best season in terms of Grand Slam results in 2025. Her 9-4 record at the big events includes a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon and a fourth-round finish at the French Open.

---

#5 Karolina Muchova

Karolina Muchova at the 2025 US Open. (Source: Getty0

Karolina Muchova also went the 2025 season without winning a singles title. The Czech has never consistently won trophies on the WTA Tour, saving her best tennis for the Grand Slams. This year, Muchova put on another great show at the US Open, where she was beaten by Naomi Osaka in the quarterfinals.

Outside of the Slams, Muchova reached the semifinals at Dubai and Linz. She also went on to become the Czech No. 1 before being overtaken by Noskova.