World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka defeated fourth-ranked Coco Gauff 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the Miami Open women’s singles final Saturday, capturing her second straight title at Gauff’s hometown tournament. The victory put Sabalenka ahead 7-6 in their head-to-head record and made her the first player to accomplish the Sunshine Double since Iga Swiatek in 2022.
“You’ve pushed me to be a better player,” Sabalenka said during the ceremony, before adding about the crowd, “You always bring a full stadium.” The match lasted 2 hours, 11 minutes and ended on Gauff getting broken for the fourth time with a wide backhand. Sabalenka overpowered Gauff in the first and third sets with sizzling groundstroke winners.
“It sucks not to come out with a better result but I had a lot of joy this week,” Gauff said to the crowd. “You guys brought energy every day this week.” Gauff fought back to force the third set but couldn’t maintain the momentum she appeared to get from the deafening crowd supporting her. The crowd’s energy created tension during the match when Sabalenka became frustrated by fan noise.
Sabalenka at times was frustrated by the fan noise, including when someone yelled “out” during a long rally. She used a curse word at the fan and the chair umpire warned the crowd, but also gave a code violation to Sabalenka. “I shouldn’t be that rude, but come on, you cannot do that,” Sabalenka said at the ceremony. “So let’s agree we were both wrong, so sorry.”
Gauff’s off-and-on serve created seven double faults while Sabalenka registered none. Sabalenka broke Gauff in the first game of the third set, helped by a Gauff double fault and an unforced error. On break point, Sabalenka crunched a backhand winner to seize control of the decisive set.
“I was disappointed about that first game of the third set up 30-0 with momentum,” Gauff said. “It was an important game to win in that moment.” The early break in the third set proved crucial as Sabalenka maintained her advantage throughout the remainder of the match. The match was attended by Kai Trump, President Donald Trump’s granddaughter and a golfer at the University of Miami, who posted a photo with Sabalenka at the tournament.