WTA fan awards: Match of the year, moments of the year and top fan favorites

It's WTA awards season, and we're thrilled to continue handing out honors as we reflect on another memorable season on the Hologic WTA Tour.

Earlier this week we announced the WTA player awards, as chosen by members of the international media. (Click here to see who won Player of the Year, Doubles Team of the Year, Most Improved Player, Comeback Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year.)

Now we're proud to announce a few more awards winner, as chosen by you. Scroll below to see your picks for Moment of the Year, Fan Favorite of the Year and Match of the Year.

Match of the Year

Rome semifinals: Coco Gauff d. Zheng Qinwen 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (4)

The rematch of their epic 2024 WTA Finals title match didn't disappoint. Like in that encounter in Riyadh, this one came down to a tense tiebreaker. 

After trailing by a break in the deciding third set, the American came back to win 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (4), becoming the first American in nine years to reach the Rome final. 

This marathon lasted 3 hours and 22 minutes, and the last set took 80 minutes alone. In the third-set tiebreaker, Zheng took the first two points to go up a mini break, but Gauff won seven of the next nine to secure the victory. The match ended after midnight, and it was the longest of the two-time Grand Slam champion's career.

Singles Fan Favorite of the Year

Zheng Qinwen

The 23-year-old's season was unfortunately cut short due to injury, but that didn't dampen fans' enthusiasm and support for her throughout 2025, both on court and off. A fan favorite no matter where in the world she's playing, the Chinese star's best work came in Rome, where she reached the semifinals (as seen above), and Roland Garros, where she reached the quarterfinals for the first time.

She underwent elbow surgery after Wimbledon, and was sidelined for more than two months, but did come back briefly to play a pair of matches in Beijing in September. She beat Emiliana Arango in her first match, to the great delight of the hometown fans, but was forced to retire in the third set against Linda Noskova in the next one. 

Doubles Fan Favorite of the Year

Jasmine Paolini

The Italian's popularity in Italy -- and around the world, for that matter -- is unquestioned, and she delivered fans another year of memories and thrills in 2025. Most notable was her doubles title at Roland Garros, her first career major, alongside countrywoman and pal Sara Errani. A close second was her title on home soil in Rome, again with Errani. (Paolini also won the singles title, becoming the first Italian women's champion since Raffaella Reggi in 1985.)

The pair also added titles in Doha and Beijing, and Paolini led Italy to a defense of its Billie Jean King Cup title. She won 80 matches across singles and doubles, all while giving max effort and always with a smile on her face.

Need more proof of her rabid fan base? Check out the pop she got at the ATP Finals in Turin.

WTA 1000 Moment of the Year

Alexandra Eala's Semifinal Run in Miami

Coming into the Miami Open ranked 140th in the world, the then-19-year-old defeated three Grand Slam champions -- Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek -- to reach the final four of the WTA 1000 tournament. The win over Swiatek was especially stunning, as it was only the third time that the four-time French Open champion had lost to a player outside the Top 100 in a main draw (and the first time in four years).

The magical run wasn't just impressive; it was historic. Eala became the first Filipina to reach a WTA Tour semifinal, and she also became the first Filipina to break into the Top 100 of the PIF WTA Rankings. Later in the season she became the first Filipina to win a WTA Tour title (WTA 125 in Guadalajara), and the first to enter the Top 50.

WTA 500 Moment of the Year

Venus Williams' Winning Return in D.C.

The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion returned to the tour after 16 months away and promptly did what she's always done: win.

Williams, 45, proved she's still got it with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 win over countrywoman and then-World No. 35 Peyton Stearns, who was 22 years her junior.

The five-time Wimbledon champion became the oldest player to win a tour-level singles match since 47-year-old Martina Navratilova defeated Catalina Castano at Wimbledon in 2004.

Williams continued her comeback in Cincinnati and New York, with the highlight being a doubles quarterfinal run with Leylah Fernandez at the US Open. 

WTA 250 Moment of the Year

The Epic Tiebreak in Eastbourne

There's perhaps nothing better in tennis than a hotly-contested, back-and-forth tiebreaker with shifting momentum and increasing tension. It's amplified when that tiebreaker decides a match. When it decides a championship, it's next level.

That scenario played out in Eastbourne, in the final between Maya Joint and Eala, and it didn't disappoint.

Joint, 19, saved four championship points before edging Eala 12-10 to win the match 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (10) and capture her second title of the season. 

Eala led 5-2 in the tiebreak, but the Australian took the next three points to level it. Joint had a championship point up 7-6, but a forehand winner from Eala saved it. Joint later converted her second championship point, and clinched the title, with a backhand winner.