Miami, March 27 – Aryna Sabalenka secured a dominant straight-set victory over Elena Rybakina, winning 6-4, 6-3 in the Miami semi-final, and moved one win closer to achieving the coveted Sunshine Double.
This win, her 10th in the tour-leading 17 WTA Tour matches, qualifies her for a second consecutive final in Miami. Notably, Sabalenka is the first player to reach consecutive Miami Open finals since Rybakina in 2023 and 2024, and the first to do so as World No. 1 since Serena Williams from 2013 to 2015.
At 4-5 in the opening set, Sabalenka, like champions, broke Rybakina with a combination of a cross-court backhand followed by a powerful overhead shot.
The second set was more straightforward, with Sabalenka starting strongly 4-0, before she eventually served out the set at love, finishing with a T-serve followed by a powerful cross-court forehand. Sabalenka celebrated by signing the camera lens with her nickname: "Tiger."
Sabalenka is the fourth player this century to reach the final at her first four WTA events of a season, joining Martina Hingis (2001), Serena Williams (2003) and Victoria Azarenka (2012).
Sabalenka will face another prominent rival, Coco Gauff, who, after conceding an early break, went on to win 12 of the final 13 games against Karolina Muchova 6-1, 6-1, to enter the first-ever Miami Open final.
If she wants to go one step further and claim back-to-back titles at the event, while also becoming the first player to complete the Sunshine Double since Iga Swiatek in 2022, Sabalenka will aim to replicate her strategy against Rybakina.
Gauff has faced Sabalenka 12 times, most recently in the Madrid final, the Roland Garros final, and the WTA Finals Riyadh group stage, all in 2025, with the American winning in France. Sabalenka and Gauff are currently tied at six wins apiece.