Aryna Sabalenka has won the WTA Player of the Year award for the first time after winning two grand slam titles and finishing 2024 at No. 1 in the rankings.

Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus, won the Australian Open in January and the US Open in September, along with two other titles this season, going 56-14 with nearly $US10 million ($A16m) in prize money. She overtook Iga Swiatek for the top ranking in October.

In other results of voting by tennis media, Emma Navarro was honoured as most improved player, Paula Badosa was named comeback player, Lulu Sun was newcomer of the year, and Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini were picked as the doubles team of the year.

Navarro made her debut in the WTA's top 10 in September after making her deepest grand slam run at the US Open, where she eliminated defending champion Coco Gauff in the fourth round before losing to Sabalenka in the semifinals.

Badosa sat out the last half of 2023 with a back injury but the 27-year-old Spaniard was back near the top of the sport this year, climbing to No. 12 in the rankings, winning the title in Washington and equalling her best result at a grand slam tournament by getting to the US Open quarterfinals.

New Zealand's Sun went from outside the top 200 in the rankings to a career-best No. 39, highlighted by a quarterfinal showing as a qualifier at Wimbledon in July.

Errani and Paolini won doubles gold for Italy at the Paris Olympics and helped their country win the Billie Jean King Cup. They also reached the French Open doubles final together. In singles, Paolini was the runner-up at both the French Open and Wimbledon.