Sabalenka sweeps the Sunshine Double with back-to-back Miami titles
Aryna Sabalenka has swept the Sunshine Double. She beat Gauff 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to defend her Miami title and become the fifth woman in history to win Indian Wells and Miami in the same season. Her 2026 record stands at 23-1. The world No. 1 is in a category of her own.
Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Miami 2026 | © AP Photo/Marta Lavandier/SIPA
Belarusian top seed Aryna Sabalenka defeated American seed No. 4 Coco Gauff 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the final of the Miami Openon Saturday to retain her title, complete the Sunshine Double and claim her 11th WTA 1000 crown – joining Iga Swiatek in second place on the all-time list since the format was introduced in 2009, behind only Serena Williams on 13.
Sabalenka became the fifth woman in the Open Era to win both Indian Wells and Miami in the same season, following Steffi Graf (1994 and 1996), Kim Clijsters (2005), Victoria Azarenka (2016) and Swiatek (2022). She dropped just one set across the entire tournament and finished the match having won 12 of her 13 service games. Her record for 2026 stands at 23-1 – her only loss coming against Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final in January.
The match followed the same pattern that has defined Sabalenka’s week. She broke early, built a dominant first set and looked on course for a clean title. Gauff, playing her first Miami final in a tournament she grew up attending as a fan and had never previously won a match beyond the fourth round, responded in the second set – steadier on her service games, more patient in rallies – and levelled at one set all. In the third, Sabalenka broke immediately and never looked back, closing out the title at 5-3.
Gauff: “You push me to be a better player”
Gauff, who had told her team she was coming to Miami after retiring from Indian Wells with a nerve injury in her left forearm, had no complaints about the outcome. “Aryna, congratulations,” she said on court. “We’ve had many battles, many finals. You push me to be a better player. You’re a great fighter. Hopefully we can play many more – I think we will.”
It was the first time Sabalenka has beaten Gauff in a hard-court final, moving her to 7-6 in the head-to-head. In terms of context, this is a rivalry that has produced three finals in 2025 alone – Gauff won the French Open final between them, Sabalenka took the WTA Finals.
Sabalenka’s run across the Sunshine Double has been breathtaking. She is 23-0 in 2026 against every opponent except Rybakina, dropping only one set across nine matches in California and Florida combined. Her 12th consecutive win and 24th WTA title in total cements a start to 2026 that has no realistic precedent in recent women’s tennis.
