MIAMI/WASHINGTON, March 29, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 4 Coco Gauff met for the 13th time – and fourth time in a WTA Tour final – at the Miami Open presented by Itau on a suns-soaked Saturday afternoon in South Florida.
At stake, Sabalenka sought to sweep this year’s Sunshine Double, after winning Indian Wells two weeks ago, while also defending her 2025 Miami Open crown where she didn’t lose a set. As for Gauff, who resides in nearby Delray Beach, Fla., she was merely aiming for her 12th overall title and first in her hometown tournament. The 21-year-old American had plenty of family and friends cheering for her.
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By the conclusion of their two-hour, nine-minute championship final, Gauff will have to wait at least another year to win the Miami Open title. That’s because Sabalenka won their highly-competitive final, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, to become just the fifth different woman to win the Sunshine Double, garnering the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., and the Miami Open in Miami Gardens, Fla., back-to-back, in the same year.
The 27-year-old from Belarus joins Steffi Graf (1994, 1996), Kim Clijsters (2005), Victoria Azarenka (2016) and Iga Swiatek (2022) as previous winners of the Sunshine Double.
Saturday’s victory gave Sabalenka a 7-6 advantage over Gauff in their 13 career head-to-head meetings.
5th woman in history to complete the Sunshine Double ☀️#MiamiOpen | @SabalenkaA pic.twitter.com/KjtwEOf7KC
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 28, 2026
A backhand wide from Gauff on championship point killed a brief, three-shot rally and gave Sabalenka her second break of the set and fourth of the match. Upon securing the title victory, Sabalenka looked toward her team and beamed a big smile. She also raised her arms wide in celebration of her accomplishment. Then, the champion walked to the net and shared a warm hug with Gauff, who said to the victor: “Good match.”
The tournament victory rewarded Sabalenka with her 24th career WTA Tour singles title – just two weeks after she won No. 23 at Indian Wells. Now, with the Sunshine Double secured, Sabalenka has won 21 career titles on hard courts. She’s just the second player after Maria Sharapova (2012-13) to reach back-to-back Sunshine Double finals. Sabalenka is also the first back-to-back Miami Open champion since Ashleigh Barty in 2019 and 2021. (The Miami Open was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.)
Sabalenka, who became the fourth player to reach five WTA 1000 finals as World No. 1 since the format’s introduction in 2009, dropped only one set during her 2026 Sunshine Double run. It came in the second set of the Miami Open final against Gauff.
Never gets old 🤩#MiamiOpen | @SabalenkaA pic.twitter.com/arwpnYlvfV
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 28, 2026
By the end of the title match, Sabalenka had outpointed Gauff 94-82. She hit three aces, produced no double faults, won 74 percent (35 of 47) of her first-serve points, converted four of 11 break points and was broken just once by her opponent. By comparison, Gauff won 66 percent (43 of 65) of her first-serve points and hit five aces but committed seven double faults. Looking back, Sabalenka balanced her explosive output during her service games with her ability to show patience during her receiving games.
Sabalenka improved to 23-1 this season, including title victories at Brisbane, Indian Wells and Miami. Meanwhile, Gauff, whose ranking will rise to No. 3 on Monday, dropped to 16-6.
In delivering her trophy ceremony speech, Sabalenka praised Gauff. “You’re a fighter. You also push me so hard to be a better player,” she said. “I like our rivalry. You’re incredible. I’m happy to see you back in the finals. I really hope to play many more.”
Gauff congratulated Sabalenka. “We’ve had many battles, many finals. You push me to be a better player. Congratulations on all the success on an off the court. You’re a great fighter. Hopefully we can play many more; I think we will,” she said.
The sunshine belongs to Aryna ☀️@SabalenkaA | @MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/vvvs6b5QAT
— wta (@WTA) March 28, 2026
Around Hard Rock Stadium
• In the Miami Open men’s doubles final, No. 7 seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori of Italy won their ninth ATP Tour title overall – but just their first ATP Masters 1000 crown – with their 6-4, 6-2 title victory over No. 4 seeds Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Henry Patten of Great Britain in an hour and 12 minutes.
The win for Bolelli, 40, and Vavassori, 30 ended a four-match losing streak against the Finn/English pair. It was the 20th doubles title at tour-level for Bolelli, most for an Italian man in the Open Era.
Heliovaara and Patten, who had reached four finals on the ATP Tour this season and won titles in Adelaide, Doha and Dubai, came into the Miami final 18-1. However, Bolelli and Vavassori improved to 15-4 and the Miami triumph was their second title of the season following their Rotterdam success in February.
A moment they won’t forget 🥹#MiamiOpen | @atptour pic.twitter.com/VRldMIfOO8
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 28, 2026
En route to the final, Bolelli and Vavassori saved two match points during their first-round victory over Romain Arneodo of Monaco and Rajeev Ram of the United States. Then, in Saturday’s final on the stadium court, Bolelli and Vavassori broke Heliovaara and Patten at the start of both sets and converted three of nine break points overall. They were not broken while outpointing their opponents 55-43.
“Obviously very happy to take the trophy, and with the way we really enjoyed this week,” Bolelli said during a post-match interview with ATP Media before the trophy ceremony. “This is a title that we wanted very much for a long time. We played a tricky first round, saved two match points, but I think we played better every match. Today we stepped on court with confidence. We played aggressive tennis and we are very happy with the result.”
Vavassori added: “We know them very well. They are an incredible team, for sure the team to beat. This year they won three titles already, and we lost to them many times in important matches. We started very well. The tactic to have an aggressive mindset, I think it paid off. Our energy, we really wanted this title. … When Simone started with me, he told me, ‘We have to win one Masters title, it’s the only title I’ve left behind.’ We did it, so I’m very proud.”
An unforgettable tournament for these two 👏@BolelliSimone | @VavassoriAndre | @MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/CYiXO6TMcc
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 28, 2026
• World No. 2 Jannik Sinner of Italy, who won the 2024 Miami title, has been lights out in ATP Masters 1000 competition, winning titles in Paris last fall and at Indian Wells earlier this month. On Sunday, Sinner brings a 16-0 win-loss record (32-0 in sets) in ATP Masters 1000 competition since Paris into the men’s singles final against World No. 22 Jiri Lehecka of Czechia, who will be appearing in his first ATP Masters 1000 final.
Sinner will be trying the be the first winner of the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells, Miami) since Roger Federer in 2017.
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By the numbers
• The Aryna Sabalenka-Coco Gauff rivalry has frequently produced close contests. Coming into Saturday’s title match, eight of their 12 career meetings featured at least one set decided by a 6-6 tiebreak, and six matches went the distance to a third set.
• The Aryna Sabalenka-Coco Gauff final on the temporary-built Stadium court was declared a sell-out, with an attendance of 16,830 fans.
“Quotable …”
“Thank you guys for an incredible atmosphere. You always bring incredible vibes and a full stadium for our final. Thank you so much.”
– Miami Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, during her trophy ceremony speech.
