Aryna Sabalenka wins a special award after beating Carlos Alcaraz and joins a rare group
Aryna Sabalenka has beaten some of the biggest names in sports, including tennis star Carlos Alcaraz, to win a special award that not many people know about.
After winning her third and fourth Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and US Open in 2025, Sabalenka has had a tougher time in 2026. She hasn’t won a major title this year and has dropped to world No. 2 in the WTA rankings.
In September, she lost the US Open final to the new world No. 1, Elina Rybakina. Things didn’t get better, as she was knocked out in the second round of the China Open and then lost in the first round of the Wuhan Open.
While her on-court struggles have grabbed attention, the 28-year-old has done really well off the court. She was named the Most Marketable Athlete of 2026 at SportsPro’s annual awards.
In 2025, Sabalenka made a huge $30 million from prize money and sponsorships with big brands like Nike, Wilson, Gucci, Emirates, Audemars Piguet, Whoop, and Stella Artois.
She topped the list ahead of Alcaraz, who ranked fifth, and joined famous athletes like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lewis Hamilton, Naomi Osaka, and Genie Bouchard as past winners since 2010.
Sabalenka earned an impressive NorthStar marketability score of 80.95 out of 100. This score looks at three key areas: brand strength, current growth, and future potential.
She scored 37.78 out of 45 for brand equity, which measures how trusted and well-known her brand is right now. She earned 29.88 out of 40 for momentum, showing how fast her value is increasing, and 13.29 out of 15 for trajectory, meaning her chances to grow more in the future are strong.
Sabalenka became only the fourth woman and third tennis player ever to top SportsPro’s rankings in its 16-year history, continuing to shine off the court.
Winning this off-court award will likely inspire her to reach her peak form again in tennis.
She gave up her world No. 1 spot in September after holding it for 99 weeks and is now 2000 ranking points behind Rybakina.
There’s a small chance Sabalenka could regain No. 1 before the year ends, but it depends on Rybakina losing early at the Pan Pacific Open in Japan.
Rybakina already has a bye into the second round and will face Yulia Putintseva on October 29.
Even if Rybakina loses, Sabalenka would need to win every match at the WTA Finals to take back the top spot. Given how well Rybakina has played this year, it looks unlikely Sabalenka will get that chance anytime soon.