World number one becomes fifth woman to complete \u2018Sunshine Double\u2019
\n MIAMI
\nDefending champion Aryna Sabalenka beat hometown favourite Coco Gauff 6-2 4-6 6-3 in the Miami \u200cOpen final on Saturday to join an exclusive club by completing the coveted \u2018Sunshine Double\u2019. World number one Sabalenka, who reached the final without dropping a set, won 73% of her first-serve points and faced just two break points en route to victory in a rematch of the 2025 French Open final won by Gauff.
\nSabalenka is only the fifth woman to win the Indian Wells and Miami titles back-to-back, a feat known as the \u2018Sunshine Double\u2019 given the tournaments\u2019 respective locations in California and Florida.
\n\u201cI want to start with (Coco). You\u2019re a fighter and you also push me so hard to be a better player and I like our rivalry,\u201d Sabalenka, who improved to 7-6 all-time versus Gauff, said during the trophy ceremony. Sabalenka raced out to a 2-0 lead but Gauff, from nearby Delray Beach and appearing in her first Miami final, got on the board with a love hold and then repelled three break points in her next service game to get within 3-2.
\nBut Sabalenka did not lose focus and eventually went up a double break on the world number four before closing out a dominant \u200copening on her serve.
\nThere was very little to separate the two players in the middle set which remained on serve until Gauff broke Sabalenka for the only time in the match to force a third set.
\nSabalenka broke Gauff to open the decider, held at love in two consecutive service games to go 5-3 up and then sealed the victory with her fourth break of the match when Gauff sent a backhand wide.
\nSabalenka is the first player to win back-to-back Miami titles since Ashleigh Barty in 2019 and 2021. The 2020 edition was cancelled due to COVID-19.
\nThe Belarusian joins Iga Swiatek (2022), Victoria Azarenka (2016), Kim Clijsters (2005) and Steffi Graf (1994, 1996) as the only women to complete the \u2018Sunshine Double\u2019.
\nSabalenka also improved to 23-1 on the year, her only loss coming in the Australian Open final at the hands of Elena Rybakina, whom she went on to beat in the Indian Wells final and Miami semi-finals.
\n\u201cI\u2019m so proud of the work that we\u2019ve done\u2013the fight that I was able to bring on court and the level and everything, like just wow,\u201d Sabalenka told.
\n\u201cI knew that she was going to fight for every opportunity. She played incredible, but I made like a couple of unforced errors in the last game and I gave her a set. But I was really, really mentally strong in my head.
\n\u201cI knew that I was doing everything right; it was just a matter of a few points, and I just kept telling myself, just stay focused, try to do better the next time, and that was the mentality going into the third set.\u201d
\n\u201cAryna congratulations. We\u2019ve had many battles, many finals and, yeah, I think you push me to be a better player,\u201d said Gauff. \u201cYou\u2019re a great fighter and hopefully we can play many more. I think we will.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
World number one becomes fifth woman to complete \u2018Sunshine Double\u2019 MIAMI Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka beat hometown favourite Coco Gauff 6-2 4-6 6-3 in the Miami \u200cOpen final on Saturday to join an exclusive club by completing the coveted \u2018Sunshine Double\u2019. World number one Sabalenka, who reached the final without dropping a set, won 73% […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-539056","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n