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Sabalenka Defends Miami Open Title, Joins Elite Sunshine Double Club
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Aryna Sabalenka showcased her powerful serve and resilience to fend off a fierce comeback attempt from Coco Gauff, securing a hard-fought victory in the Miami Open final Saturday.
The Belarusian star triumphed 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in front of nearly 17,000 fans at Hard Rock Stadium, many cheering passionately for the American. With this win, Sabalenka not only successfully defended her Miami crown but also achieved the rare Sunshine Double-winning back-to-back titles at Indian Wells and Miami-a feat accomplished by only a handful of women in tennis history.
After the match, Sabalenka praised her young opponent, saying, “You’re a fighter. You also pushed me so hard to be a better player.”
The victory earned Sabalenka $1.15 million and marked her 24th career title. Her record now stands at 7-6 against Gauff, with an impressive 23-1 overall in 2026, including three titles this year.
Sabalenka joins the exclusive group of women to complete the Sunshine Double, including tennis legends Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka, and most recently Iga Swiatek in 2022.
For Gauff, who had never advanced beyond the Round of 16 in her previous Miami appearances, reaching the final was a breakthrough. She walked away with $612,340 and will move up to No. 3 in the WTA singles rankings on Monday.
Reflecting on the match, Gauff said, “This wasn’t the result we were expecting. And although it sucks to not come out with a bigger trophy today, I had a lot of joy this week.
That’s something I’m thinking of taking away from this the most.”
The match featured intense rallies and momentum swings. Sabalenka broke Gauff’s serve four times, while Gauff managed just one break point conversion against Sabalenka’s serve. Despite firing five aces, Gauff struggled with seven double faults, contrasted with Sabalenka’s flawless serving in that respect.
Sabalenka quickly dominated the first set, breaking Gauff twice and wrapping it up in 37 minutes. The second set saw Gauff find her groove, holding serve consistently and claiming a critical break to force a deciding third set. Early in the final set, Sabalenka broke Gauff to seize control, eventually closing out the match with a decisive break as Gauff’s backhand return sailed wide.
Looking ahead, the men’s singles final at Hard Rock Stadium will feature No. 2 Jannik Sinner of Italy against No.
22 Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic on Sunday. Sinner is aiming to become the first man since Roger Federer in 2017 to complete the Sunshine Double.
A Sinner victory would make him and Sabalenka just the fourth duo to win both men’s and women’s Sunshine Doubles in the same year, a feat last accomplished by Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka in 2016.