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The end of the season is a time for reflection, and Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys have done just that. The WTA and ATP Tours recently announced the winners of the year-end awards, and the two Americans have done the same on the latest episode of their podcast.
Pegula took the initiative on The Players Box Podcast, asking her fellow hosts, Keys, Desirae Krawczyk, and Jennifer Brady, to select one winner from the categories she puts forth. The match of the year was an easy pick, with everyone agreeing Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's showdown at the French Open being the best.
"Anyways, moving on to year-end awards. Our player box WTA year-end awards, to be specific. If only us four could vote. I'm going to name a couple categories. Let's start with match of the year. Does anybody have votes for their match of the year?" Pegula said.
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"Roland Garros men's final. Yeah, men's final," the others agreed.
Keys winning her maiden Major title at the Australian Open was everyone's favorite Slam moment, including Keys herself. Ben Shelton and Mirra Andreeva were the top choices when it came to the 1000 winners.
"Me winning. I personally enjoyed that answer," Keys said.
"We all did. We all cried. I think we all did. Yeah, I cried," Brady said. "I think Ben winning Toronto. That was pretty cool."
"I thought Mirra winning back-to-back 1000s was pretty crazy as well," Pegula said.
Pegula nominated herself for the best moment at the 500 level, along with Keys. The opinion on most improved player was split, with Shelton, Alexandra Eala, Jack Draper, and Victoria Mboko being the nominees.
"Yeah, best tournament moment for 500. I picked myself for winning Charleston. I also had Maddie winning Adelaide because then she won Adelaide and then won AO. So, I feel like that was like an insane run." Pegula said. "Most improved".
"I want to say Eala or like even when we mentioned Mboko," Krawczyk said.
"I feel like Mboko winning a 1000 is pretty insane," Pegula said.
While the hosts were split on whom to award the player of the year, they ultimately chose Aryna Sabalenka over Amanda Anisimova, Elena Rybakina, and Keys.
"I think, just so many, yeah. Sabalenka," Pegula said.
Watch their full discussion on the topic below:
Pegula and others crowning Sabalenka as the player of the year was in line with the WTA's decision as well. The Belarusian was recently chosen as the top player of the 2025 season.
Madison Keys loses the Player of the Year Award to Aryna Sabalenka
The results of the annual WTA Awards were announced earlier this week. Aryna Sabalenka was chosen as the Player of the Year by a majority of the voters to claim the coveted award for the second year in a row. Madison Keys was also one of the nominees after a memorable season.
Sabalenka won four titles this year, including the US Open. She also finished as the runner-up at the Australian Open, French Open, and WTA Finals. She remained atop the rankings for the entire year as well.
Keys started the year on a high, claiming the title in Adelaide and maintaining the momentum to win the Australian Open. She beat Sabalenka in the final as well. However, she couldn't sustain this form until the end of the season, while her rival did, thus tipping the scales in her favor.
