World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka continued her hard-court dominance by adding the Miami Open title to her list of achievements on Saturday. She defeated No. 4 Jessica Pegula in the final with a convincing 7-5, 6-2 victory, marking her first triumph at this prestigious tournament.
In a rematch of the previous year`s US Open final, Sabalenka needed just 1 hour and 28 minutes to overcome the American player and secure the championship. Despite recent close matches between them, Sabalenka has now extended her advantage in head-to-head encounters against Pegula to 7-2.
Impressive Statistics: Sabalenka`s victory marks her eighth WTA 1000 singles title, putting her level with Maria Sharapova in this category. Only Serena Williams (13), Victoria Azarenka (10), Iga Swiatek (10), Simona Halep (9), and Petra Kvitova (9) have won more WTA 1000 titles since the tier`s creation in 2009.
Overall, this Miami Open win is Sabalenka`s 19th Hologic WTA Tour singles title. An impressive 17 of these 19 titles have been won on her favored hard court surface, including all three of her Grand Slam singles titles: the 2023 Australian Open, 2024 Australian Open, and 2024 US Open.
Surprisingly, before this victory, Sabalenka had never won either of the coveted hard-court titles that make up the “Sunshine Double” in March. She has been a runner-up twice at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (including earlier this month) and had never previously reached the final in Miami. Now, Aryna Sabalenka can finally call herself the Miami Open champion.
Key Moments of the Match: Sabalenka initially gained an advantage, but Pegula fought back, winning three consecutive games to take a 3-2 lead. The seesaw battle in the first set continued as Sabalenka then seized control, winning the next three games to serve for the set at 5-3.
Another twist occurred when Pegula broke back to level the score. However, at 6-5, Sabalenka played her most dominant game of the set. She unleashed three consecutive winners to earn triple set point and then sealed the set with a powerful forehand, breaking Pegula to love.
Both players committed 16 unforced errors in the first set, but Sabalenka`s aggressive play resulted in 16 winners, double Pegula`s count of eight. This marked the fourth consecutive set Pegula has lost to Sabalenka with a 7-5 score in their rivalry.
The game at 2-1 in the second set proved crucial. Pegula fought back from 0-40 down to deuce, but Sabalenka responded with powerful forehand winners on the following two points, securing a break for a 3-1 lead. From that point, the top seed comfortably closed out the match to lift the Miami Open trophy.
More updates to follow…
