RIO DE JANEIRO — World sports last year was marked by major title breakthroughs and tightly contested championship finishes. Here are some of the key moments:
A rivalry for the ages
Men’s tennis in 2025 continued a transition that now appears firmly settled at the top of the sport. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner shared the biggest titles and the world No. 1 ranking throughout the season, turning their rivalry into the defining storyline of the year.
They met six times on the ATP Tour, with Alcaraz holding a 4-2 edge. Each won two Grand Slam titles in 2025, extending a run in which they have claimed the last eight men’s singles majors dating back to the 2024 Australian Open.
Their rise confirmed a generational shift following the retirements of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, with Novak Djokovic remaining the only leading figure from the previous era still competing at the top level.
By the end of the season, the focus had shifted to how Alcaraz and Sinner would shape the sport rather than whether they were ready to do so.
Oklahoma City ends wait
The NBA’s defining story of 2025 was the rise of the Oklahoma City Thunder from contender to champion.
The Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers 4-3 in the NBA Finals to secure the franchise’s first championship since relocating from Seattle in 2008.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dominated the 2024-25 season with a league-high average of 32.7 points per game as he won both the regular-season MVP and Finals MVP awards.
The title capped a season of sustained dominance for Oklahoma City, which finished the regular season 68-14, tied for the fifth-most wins in a single NBA season.
Duplantis caps record-breaking year
Armand Duplantis dominated the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, clearing a pole vault world record of 6.30 meters to cement his position at the top of the sport heading toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Over the course of 2025, the 26-year-old broke the world record four times across indoor and outdoor competitions.
Beyond Duplantis, the championships delivered a host of standout moments, including Oblique Seville and Kishane Thompson’s Jamaican one-two finish in the men’s 100 meters, a historic marathon gold for Tanzania’s Alphonce Felix Simbu, and a sprint treble by U.S. athlete Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won the women’s 400 meters in the second-fastest time in history, also a new championship record, while Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet completed another 5,000m-10,000m double after the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Thrilling finale
Formula One delivered one of its most competitive seasons in years, with the drivers’ championship going down to the final race in Abu Dhabi.
Briton Lando Norris secured his first world title after a three-way battle with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.
Norris won seven races and secured 18 podium finishes, keeping his composure in the tense final weeks.
The title was McLaren’s first drivers’ championship since Lewis Hamilton won in 2008, marking a milestone for a team that had spent much of the previous decade rebuilding. / XINHUA