Sabalenka completes Sunshine Double
Aryna Sabalenka retained the Miami Open, beating Coco Gauff 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to complete the rare Sunshine Double (Indian Wells + Miami) and move to a 23-1 start to 2026 with three titles so far. She credited months of mental training for staying composed in the big moments — the final also featured heated crowd moments and a line-caller spat after the match. (bbc.com) (x.com) (x.com)
Sabalenka became just the fifth woman to win Indian Wells and Miami in the same season, joining Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka and Iga Swiatek on that short list. (miamiopen.com) Sabalenka faced only two break points across the final while Gauff faced 11, a gap that underpinned the decisive moments of the match. (wtatennis.com) Gauff committed seven double faults to Sabalenka’s zero, and Sabalenka won 94 of the match’s 176 total points compared with Gauff’s 82. (wtatennis.com) The final drew a sell‑out crowd of 16,830 to Hard Rock Stadium, with the partisan home support repeatedly audible throughout the match. (miamiopen.com) Umpire Tom Sweeney intervened repeatedly to quiet spectators, and Sabalenka received an on‑court warning for swearing at a disruptive fan before later calling out a shrieking spectator in her on‑court speech and apologising. (the-express.com) The world No. 1 picked up 1,000 ranking points and the tournament winner’s payout of $1,151,380, a payday that Tennis365 says takes her career prize money to about $47.9 million and further tightens her hold on the top ranking. (tennisuptodate.com)
