It was a thrilling evening of tennis at the Miami Open, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka survived a second-set slump to overcome fourth seed Coco Gauff 6-2 4-6 6-3 and complete the Sunshine Double.
Sabalenka set the tone early, breaking confidently in the opening game before consolidating for a 2-0 lead. Later in the first set, the top seed secured another break with ruthless efficiency and closed it out comfortably, appearing untouchable as she moved closer to defending her Miami title.
Just when it looked like the Miami final would be over quickly and Gauff was getting blown off the court, the Floridian fought back into the match, taking every point on Sabalenka’s serve at 4-5 30-0 in the second set to force a third. Sabalenka raced out to a 2-0 lead in the decider and never looked back, adding another late break to seal the victory.
Coming into the final, the Sabalenka–Gauff rivalry was deadlocked at 6-6, often producing tight contests, just as it played out today in Miami. With the win, the Belarusian now leads 7-6 in their head-to-head. Sabalenka is currently riding a 12-match winning streak and tops the WTA charts with 23 victories so far this season.
Fresh off her Indian Wells triumph, Sabalenka powered through Miami, defeating Ann Li, Caty McNally, Zheng Qinwen, Hailey Baptiste, Elena Rybakina, and finally Gauff, who prevented her from becoming the first player since the WTA 1000 format’s introduction in 2009 to win back-to-back titles at a single event without dropping a set.
With the victory, Sabalenka becomes just the fifth woman to complete the Sunshine Double in the same year, joining Steffi Graf (1994, 1996), Kim Clijsters (2005), Victoria Azarenka (2016), and Iga Swiatek (2022). She is also only the second world No. 1 to achieve the feat, after Graf.
