TENNIS.com Top 25: November 25

Each month, Ravi Ubha will reveal his latest assessment of the tours in the TENNIS.com Top 25. This list is not a reflection of actual ranking points gained or lost, but a combination of each player's current form and past pedigree—along the lines of the Top 25 polls in U.S. college football and basketball. (For the ATP and WTA rankings, click here; for our previous Top 25, click here.)

Novak Djokovic was beaten once at ATP World Tour Finals, but not twice, and became the first man to win the year-end title four straight times. One day he’ll be the crowd favorite.

The Serb—surprise, surprise—again heads our Top 25.

It wouldn’t have seemed appropriate if Djokovic didn’t win the year-end championships, given the year he had. And he came through, recovering after losing to Roger Federer in the round-robin stage. No doubt about it: His 82-6 campaign is right up there with the best seasons in tennis history.

Remember this: Federer is 34. And he’s been the second-best men’s player this season, regardless of what the rankings say. The Swiss wasn’t far off from winning an 18th major, and making the final in London was confirmation of his superb year.

A year that began poorly for Radwanska—remember her split with Martina Navratilova?—ended on an unlikely high when the Pole won the WTA Finals. Even more unlikely, with a 1-2 record after round-robin play.

While he’ll need to figure out a way to beat Djokovic in 2016, Nadal concluded this year just the way he needed to. Struggling against Top-10 opposition for most of the season, he beat three such players in a row at the World Tour Finals. Back to winning a Grand Slam title in 2016?

When he’s hot, he’s unbeatable. When he’s not, he can lose to anyone. Wawrinka didn’t perform his best against Nadal in London but at least rebounded to make the semifinals. Continuing with the patchiness, he underwhelmed against Federer, and not for the first time.

You want eventful? You’d be hard pressed to find a player who had a more topsy-turvy campaign than Kvitova—even more so than usual. But the Czech managed to make the final in Singapore and played her part in the Fed Cup final for her country.

Sharapova was impressive in Singapore after her long injury layoff. Exiting to Kvitova, indoors, is nothing to be ashamed of. And the Russian got revenge in the Fed Cup final, where she picked up two victories.

Playing singles and doubles might have caught up with the Spaniard in Singapore. This, too, after the Asian swing, where Muguruza played a lot of matches (and won a lot). A great year for Muguruza and much to look forward to in 2016.

If Williams had played in the year-end championships, she’d have been my pick to win the whole thing. Missing out on Singapore, Venus played and bettered a good field in Zhuhai to finish well inside the Top 10.

The year will probably end in glorious fashion for Murray, since his involvement makes Great Britain the favorite in the upcoming Davis Cup final against Belgium. But he endured more disappointment at the World Tour Finals, having been eliminated before the weekend and exhibiting behavior similar to his pre-Ivan Lendl days.

She hasn’t played since the U.S. Open, so current form isn’t part of the equation when assessing Serena Williams for the Top 25. Yet as the dominant world No. 1, she doesn’t overly slide down the rankings due to the inactivity.

Ferrer missed Wimbledon this year but still managed to qualify for the year-end championships at the age of 33. A semifinal appearance in the Paris Masters boosted his point tally and he was a little unlucky to go 0-3 at the World Tour Finals.

Pliskova had some time to get ready for the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, a second-tier season-ending tournament, and duly made the final. And given the nod ahead of Lucie Safarova in singles in the Fed Cup final, she went a respectable 1-1 before teaming with the fiery Barbora Strycova to clinch the tie in the doubles.

Nishikori’s injury woes continued in the fall, withdrawing from Basel and retiring in Paris. As such, who knew if he’d even show up in London. He did, won a match, and participated in the most entertaining tussle of the event against Federer.

Kerber won a match at the year-end championships, which was an accomplishment in itself since the German had gone 1-5 in her previous two appearances there. Still, Kerber had a nice opportunity to advance to the semifinals and didn’t take it.

OK, so Isner didn’t exactly do much in Vienna and Basel, but he did defeat Federer in Paris on the way to a quarterfinal showing. Ending 2015 ranked 11th, Isner will be looking to return to the Top 10 and stay there for a sustained spell.

Pennetta was so close to making the semifinals at the year-end championships in her farewell tournament—she needed to win a set in her last match against Sharapova and led by a break late in the first—and who knows what would have happened then? The Italian, though, failed to hold onto the lead and walked into retirement.

To get anywhere near the World Tour Finals was a huge accomplishment for Tsonga, since he sat out the first two-and-a-half months of the season. He found it difficult, though, to repeat his Shanghai heroics in both Paris, where he habitually shines, and Vienna.

Halep didn’t live up to her seeding at the WTA Finals and by her own admission zoned out after losing a tough first set to Radwanska in the round robin. “I was done,” she said. Halep went a combined 3-6 versus the Top 10 in 2015, belying her sky-high ranking.

Anderson played a lot of tennis in 2015—25 tournaments, tying Isner, his fellow college standout and towering big server, for the most among top 15 players—so maybe it played a role in his upset loss to Donald Young in Basel. But he finished the year strong, stretching Nadal to three sets in Paris after going nearly three hours the day before.

We’ve long known what to expect from Gasquet: Solid stretches from time to time, but you’d never back him to win an important match. (Don’t forget his performance in last year’s Davis Cup final.) He had another one of those spells to end 2015, with the Frenchman failing to get the better of Murray in Paris when he had a host of chances.

Qualifying for the year-end championships and giving Djokovic one of his toughest matches over the last two months (in Paris, not London) were great for Berdych. Conversely, he went 2-12 against the Top 10 after the Australian Open, and one of those wins came via a retirement.

An American man playing in finals in back-to-back weeks—in Europe? It almost happened, and Johnson was the guy who got the closest. After giving Ferrer a battle in the Vienna finale, he should have made the Valencia final but didn’t take any of his six match points against the stern Roberto Bautista-Agut. He’ll be seeded in Melbourne, a reward for his good fall.

Similar to Tsonga, Sock getting to No. 26 after missing the start of 2015 is impressive. He mirrored Johnson in landing in the final in one tournament and the semis the week after (Stockholm and Basel).

A knee injury in Luxembourg ended Bacsinszky’s season prematurely, with the Swiss unable to serve as an alternate in Singapore and then play in Zhuhai. But she was one of the uplifting stories of 2015.