Howdy, y’all and Happy Tennis Tuesday!
The Miami Open (and with that, the Sunshine Double) is in the books, and if you blinked you might’ve missed just how dominant the past few weeks of tennis have been. Between the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and Hard Rock Stadium, we were given a historic stretch on the WTA side and it all comes back to one name in Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka claimed her second straight Miami Open title Saturday with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over Coco Gauff and in doing so completed one of tennis’ most coveted achievements. The world No. 1 became only the fifth woman ever to win Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back — the feat known as the Sunshine Double — joining Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka, and Iga Swiatek in that exclusive club. Not shabby company to be a part of, to be honest.
What made it even more impressive was the path she took to get there. Sabalenka reached the final without dropping a set, won 73 percent of her first-serve points, and faced just two break points the entire tournament. When you’re the best player in the world and you’re playing like that, it tends to go your way.
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The final itself was exactly the kind of match you’d expect from these two. Sabalenka came out and put her foot on the gas immediately, dominating the first set. Gauff — playing in front of a crowd that was absolutely electric for their hometown favorite (she’s from nearby Delray Beachand had never been past the fourth round) — found something in the second set and took it 6-4. For a moment, it felt like this might get interesting and yet another major final blip to add to the Belarussian’s list. However, it didn’t. Sabalenka broke Gauff in the first game of the third set, crunched a backhand winner on break point, and never looked back.
One of the more entertaining subplots of the match was Sabalenka versus the crowd. The South Beach crowd was going full throttle for Gauff all afternoon, and at one point someone in the stands yelled “out” during a long rally, which not only set Sabalenka off but she also received a code violation from the chair umpire. At the trophy ceremony, true to her personality, she addressed it directly: “I shouldn’t be that rude, but come on, you cannot do that. So let’s agree we were both wrong, so sorry.” While I could argue it’s a little cringey, you have to applaud Sabalenka being herself.
As for Gauff, this was her first-ever Miami Open final, which is worth noting. She fought hard and the crowd gave her everything they had, but seven double faults compared to none from Sabalenka is a tough hill to climb against the best player on tour. Zoom out and the full picture of Sabalenka’s 2026 is kind of absurd — 23-1 on the year, and the only blemish is an Australian Open final loss to Rybakina, who she then beat twice in the Sunshine swing. Revenge tour doesn’t quite cover it. In fact, the stat that really made me pause was that until the final, Sabalenka hadn’t lost a set against anyone but Rybakina. There’s dominance and then there’s that.
Now, the calendar turns to clay.
The Credit One Charleston Open kicks things off this week as the largest women’s professional tennis tournament in North America and it’s always one of the more fun weeks on the WTA calendar. It’s the only event of the clay court season played on green clay — a surface that plays a bit differently than the red dirt you’ll see everywhere in Europe, sitting somewhere between hard courts and traditional clay. It rewards aggressive ball-striking, which tends to make for entertaining tennis. Jessica Pegula comes in as defending champion and top seed though Amanda Anisimova has already withdrawn due to injury. Madison Keys, Iva Jovic, and Belinda Bencic are among the names to watch. The prize money has more than doubled this year to $2.3 million, which is a genuinely big deal for the tournament’s profile.
Meanwhile, the Copa Colsanitas gets underway in Bogota simultaneously, offering a completely different vibe. The high altitude in Bogota creates faster ball speeds on clay, which makes it one of the more unique stops on the tour and usually a place where you see some fun, unexpected results. It’s a good week to pay attention to some of the lower-ranked players who thrive in those conditions.
The clay season is a long one, so get those seats comfy. Until next week, on to links!
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This Week in Women’s Tennis
Ben Rothenberg broke the news that apparently the WTA will not be extending their three-year WTA Finals deal with Saudi Arabia. Apparently, but not surprisingly, Charlotte is hoping to snag the 2027 tournament and beyond.
Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend also completed the Sunshine Double but unfortunately, the Miami rain forced them to play on Grandstand instead of Stadium during the men’s singles final and fans were rightfully pissed. One can wonder if it were the men’s doubles/women’s singles final instead….
When the No. 1 player faces off against No. 2, usually it’s in a final but Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina’s Miami semifinal was one of the outliers.
Video review will be coming to six courts at Wimbledon later this year.
Paula Badosa’s back struggles are long-documented but the Spaniard shared she actually suffered a torn labrum last year and has been able to play through it with the help of injections.
Alexandra Stevenson is stepping into WTA coaching, assisting with Dayana Yastremska:
Lesia Tsurenko’s lawsuit against the WTA and former chairman Steve Simon claiming mental abuse was thrown out of court this week.
Amanda Anisimova announced she and coach Rick Vleeshouwers have parted ways after a two-year partnership:
Danielle Collins spoke out about the chronic pain she played through while enduring blowback from fans not knowing the extent.
Aryna Sabalenka passed Iga Swiatek to achieve the third-longest streak atop the WTA rankings with her 76th consecutive week at No. 1.
Congratulations to Caroline Garcia, who announced she’s expecting her first child:
I love that the Miami Open was changing the landscape of ballkids with age not being a factor.
Deniz Khazan acheived a Top 200 WTA ranking before taking on Division II tennis and now has her eyes set on pickleball.
The WTA and ATP continued their combined alumni golf outing in Indian Wells.
Tweet of the Week
I love a good tennis undercover moment:
Five at The IX: Miami Open Week 2
Q. Congrats. Big trophy. I saw on Tennis Channel that you said after the Australian Open you had a lot of talks with your team about being more composed and trying not to get too stressed in those moments in the third set. Could you talk a bit more about that, like what solution you found this time?
ARYNA SABALENKA: Well, it’s a deep one, and it’s going to sound super easy, but my mentality really going into this final, like there is no way I lose it, trying to bring this tough mentality that I’ll be there fighting for every point, there is no way I’ll let anything get to me, and I’ll be staying focused, I’ll be fighting for every point, I’ll be trying to find solution if needed or I’ll be just, like, I’ll keep constantly remind myself how strong I am and that I got it.
That’s been working really well, and it’s so easy but so tough at some point, like when you get emotional and then you forget everything. And in the last couple of finals, I have just been really strong inside and really positive mentally.
And also, we did really great preparation. I worked so hard. So whenever I felt like doubting my ability, I was, like, bringing myself back and reminding myself, No, no, no, no, no. You’re strong enough to get this.
Q. Really well done. Very impressive. How do you keep the motivation up? I know winning is fun and it makes you hungry for more, but, you know, you keep going deep and you’re winning a lot, but at some point, does it get tiring, or does it get, okay, I have to wake up tomorrow morning, and tennis is relentless, there is another tournament in two weeks probably? What are you doing to keep yourself motivated so that every time you do show up, you really show up?
ARYNA SABALENKA: I hate losing. I hate that feeling when you lose the match. I cannot sleep, I dream tennis, I hate myself for making several mistakes that might cost me a match, so I hate that feeling.
Just because of that, whenever I go out there, I just really try my best and I try to do everything that is possible and possible to get the win.
Motivation, guys, I’m not even, like, close to the legends. Like what’s my motivation? I’m just trying to go as far as possible in this sport and to inspire next generation and to be good example for next generation and show this balance, you know, like off and on the court live and to just to help people to be healthy in this really tough and challenging environment.
Q. As you said at the beginning, Taylor, Kat’s done almost everything there is to winning in doubles. I wonder if that adds or decreases pressure, knowing you have this partner who has won everything already and has kind of been there, done that almost, nearly everything there is to do in women’s doubles?
TAYLOR TOWNSEND: I’m just happy we have done something together. Like, you know, accomplished this as a team, you know, that goes down in the history books as, like, Taylor and Kat, Taylorina did the Sunshine Double.
So I’m really excited about that. It doesn’t add any pressure to me. I think in this sport, every single tournament, you know, things can happen. You can win a Grand Slam, and then the next week you can lose first round. So there is no guarantees when you do well, you have good results, that it means that the following week that it matters.
You know, that is the tough part. You constantly have to reset. Even coming here from Indian Wells, we had to reset and we had to get used to the conditions. Even though we were playing really well, we both felt like it was a lot harder to adjust. And the singles helps for us, as well. We got a chance to get a couple matches under our belt there.
For me, I’m just excited to continue this partnership. I’m excited that we’re getting better every week, that we’re enjoying being together. We’re not sick of each other. We’re having fun.
You know, even during the times with the rain delays where you can separate and do your own thing, we sit with each other, we have conversations, laugh, joke, and so I think that’s what makes it worthwhile, you know, and spending time with each other, even in this environment, that doesn’t have anything to do with tennis. If only you guys could have heard what we were talking about (smiling).
Yeah, so, I mean, I’m enjoying it. It makes me feel really good to know that we’re accomplishing these things as a team, but then also I know that the sky’s the limit for us. We can continue to get better and improve, and the doubles for both of us helps our singles game. So I’m really excited to see how this confidence transfers over in that field, as well.
Q. On the court, you mentioned you were emotional, spoke about your joy earlier. You said they weren’t sad tears you had. Is that like a strategy where you’re trying not to talk down to yourself? Is there a moment you noticed previously in your career where you were doing that and you kind of wanted to experience more joy during your play?
COCO GAUFF: Yeah, I think I can talk down on myself, and things like that, but in that moment, you know, an athlete that I was inspired by at the Winter Olympics, Alysa Liu, and I had the mindset today that regardless of what happened, you lose, but there is no real loss in the situation.
I was just looking at my box and seeing all my family and friends and hearing them in the crowd, and I know how much they supported me just to be on this stage, so I was just thinking more gratitude and things like that.
It is a mindset shift, because obviously as soon as you lose a final, it’s tough. I’m, like, thinking about — you could see on the bench before, I was just thinking about the match and replaying all the points. Then after, it’s over, you just learn from it.
Yeah, I’m grateful, because I didn’t think to be here and I’m here, and I know I can repeat this and come home with a bigger trophy, and I feel confident in that.
Q. Amazing run for you lately. Can you take us through the process to get here. Also what it’s like playing a good friend, having it end the way it did?
VICTORIA MBOKO: Yeah, well, my first-ever match playing was here in Miami a year ago. I mean, to kind of see how many matches I’ve played over the course… Yeah, I mean, the progress I’ve made, it’s been pretty nice. It’s a nice feeling, feeling of improving, too.
Yeah, I’m kind of glad to have gotten through all of that. I feel like it made me the player who I am today. So yeah, I think in general it’s nice to experience all of that.
Yeah, just really happy with the win today.
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