Naomi Osaka and Zheng Qinwen found varying degrees of success in the 2025 season. While Osaka had her big breakthroughs after returning from maternity leave, Qinwen struggled with injuries. There was, however, one area where the two shared a similar fate: the lack of titles. And they are not the only ones. In fact, at least five top-25 WTA players went through the year without winning any titles.
Here, we take a look at their seasons and how they managed to hold onto their positions in the rankings.
### Linda Noskova
Linda Noskova enjoyed a career-best season in 2025, reaching a new high in the rankings at No. 13. She played consistently well at Tour events but faltered on the big stage, including Grand Slams and tournament finals. The Czech made it past the third round at only one of 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, where she lost the summit clash to compatriot Marie Bouzkova. She went on to make her biggest final at the WTA 1000 event in Beijing but was edged out by Amanda Anisimova. She also lost the final in Tokyo to Belinda Bencic.
### Naomi Osaka
The 2025 season reinstated Naomi Osaka’s faith in her own abilities, as she showed flashes of the form that led 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 the Toronto tournament. She came agonizingly close to the title but was denied by teen sensation Victoria Mboko in three sets.
While that was the only final Osaka reached this year, she registered several strong semifinal finishes. The most notable came at the US Open, where she was beaten by Amanda Anisimova. To be fair, Osaka did win a title—albeit at the WTA 125K level. It was this very run at the Open de Saint-Malo that set the ball rolling for her strong second half of the year.
### Zheng Qinwen
Zheng Qinwen managed only sporadic play during the 2025 season due to a right elbow injury, which required surgery in July. The Chinese player has participated in just one tournament since then—her home event in Beijing—where she made the second round but was forced to withdraw from her encounter against Linda Noskova.
Zheng did not reach any finals this year, with her best results being the semifinal run at Rome and a quarterfinal finish at the French Open. As a result, her ranking dropped outside the top 20 to No. 24, down from a career-high of No. 7.
### Liudmila Samsonova
A powerful striker of the tennis ball, Liudmila Samsonova can overwhelm any opponent when in form. She first made waves in 2022 by reaching and winning her first four Tour finals. This year, the Russian participated in one final at the WTA 500 event in Strasbourg. She came close to lifting the trophy but lost to Elena Rybakina in three sets.
Nonetheless, Samsonova enjoyed her career-best season in terms of Grand Slam results in 2025. Her 9-4 record at the majors includes a quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon and a fourth-round finish at the French Open.
### Karolina Muchova
Karolina Muchova was another immensely talented player in the top 20 who went through the 2025 season without winning a singles title. To be fair, the Czech player has never been known for winning multiple trophies in a year. Instead, her best tennis has often shone on the biggest stages like the Grand Slams.
This year, Muchova put on another great show at the US Open but saw her run cut short by Naomi Osaka in the quarterfinals. Outside of the Slams, she reached the semifinals at Dubai and Linz. Muchova also became the Czech No. 1 player before being overtaken by Noskova.
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Despite their ups and downs, these players demonstrated resilience and maintained strong rankings throughout the season, proving that consistent performance can be just as valuable as title wins on the WTA Tour.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/tennis/naomi-osaka-zheng-qinwen-3-top-25-wta-players-missed-title-2025-season-comes-end
