Aryna Sabalenka, super champion at Miami 2026! Enter a select gallery: “Sunshine Double” checked
Article by Adrian Jitea – Published Saturday, March 28, 2026 11:26 p.m. / Updated Saturday, March 28, 2026 11:40 p.m.
World leader Aryna Sabalenka defeated Coco Gauff, the American ranked 4th in the world, in the final of the tournament in Miami, score 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
Aryna Sabalenka feels good on the American hard court. The double US Open champion started today's final with a new important milestone in mind. She wanted to become only the fifth woman in tennis history to win in the same year at Indian Wells and Miami, the tournaments that make up the “Sunshine Double”.
Aryna Sabalenka is the champion in Miami!
The 27-year-old Belarusian started in dominant fashion. He made a break in the first game, then he served superbly. It gave Gauff no opportunity to come back in the opening act.
Aryna's first serve was unreturnable, winning in 79% of cases. Desperate for the cause, the American looked for the redeeming direct shots, but she missed a lot. It ended 6-2 after just 38 minutes.
The second set pleased the assistance. Coco raised the frequency of her first serve, eliminated the errors and was confident in the two moments of maximum intensity. He canceled the opponent's break balls and pushed the dispute into the decider.
Here, the nerves appeared. Sabalenka argued with an annoying spectator, she was warned by the chair umpire. Later, the fan also received a final warning from the official: “If you want to stay with us, please shut up!”.
Let's go back to tennis. Aryna was a safer player. A quick break, again thanks to a lapel in the day of grace.
An interesting detail related to the safety of Belarus is the absence of double faults.
At the end of an intense 2 hours and 11 minutes, Sabalenka achieved yet another dream. Enter the select gallery of players who won Indian Wells and Miami in the same year alongside Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka and Iga Swiatek.
$1,151,380won Aryna Sabalenka for this year's Miami triumph
Fair play speeches on the podium in Miami
I am grateful to be in this final. Congratulations, Aryna! I have had many struggles and you always push me to be better! I can't wait to see you again. You have a wonderful team, it's always a pleasure to meet and talk with you. I enjoyed this week, I would have liked to walk away with the big trophy, but it was nice. The fans gave me a lot of energy, they made me feel special. We'll see you next year!
– Coco Gauff
Coco, you are so good at speeches! What can I say? Just kidding, you're an awesome player, you're doing a terrific job. See you again in a final!
I thank those who make such a beautiful tournament possible, the organizers, the fans. I don't know where the lady who shouted “out” in the last set is…. I was rude, I admit, but that's not how you do it. I hope we are all right now.
Next time I will ask for a bigger box, I have a wonderful team, it is full. Thank you for everything, you are amazing. Thanks to my fiance too! That sounds good… See you all next year!
– Aryna Sabalenka
