Aryna Sabalenka has suffered a couple of heartbreaking losses to Coco Gauff in big finals, with the American beating her to win the 2023 US Open and the 2025 French Open. But the world No. 1 came out on top when they met inside the Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, claiming a 6-2 4-6 6-3 victory in the Miami Open final to complete the Sunshine Double, having also won Indian Wells earlier this month.
Gauff was the only woman able to take a set off Sabalenka in Miami over the past fortnight, and has always been a tough opponent for the Belarusian, but Sabalenka still enjoys their rivalry. After coming through a tough championship match, Sabalenka was full of praise for the fourth seed, and admitted she even wanted to steal one aspect of her game.
“Her movement is something else. Going into matches against her, I know that there is always going to be an extra ball, and it’s all about staying focused and being ready for an extra ball to come back,” the Miami Open champion explained.
“The movement is something else, you know. I wish I could move, I mean, even like 70 per cent from what she has would be enough for me! But yeah, she’s an incredible player and a fighter. It’s always challenging playing her, and I’m really enjoying this rivalry lately, and I hope she’ll stay consistent, and hopefully we’ll meet in many more finals.”
Sabalenka shared a similar sentiment during her on-court victory speech, and was jealous of another trait Gauff possessed – her ability to address the crowd. “You’re so good at speeches, honestly, I don’t know what else to say,” the top seed laughed.
“You’re a fighter, you also push me so hard to be a better player. I like our rivalry. You’re incredible. I’m happy to see you back in finals, and I really hope we will play many more. So congrats to you and your team, incredible job.”
“Aryna, she trusts her game, I think, 100 per cent, and trusts herself, and when you’re playing like that, it’s so easy to play,” the 22-year-old explained, “I have had moments in my career where I felt very similar, where you just feel like, no matter what happens today, you’re going to win.
“I felt like that going in today, but it didn’t happen. When you’re playing someone who has probably had that feeling the whole year versus me, who is just trying to find that feeling this week. I think the more weeks I have like this one – even despite the result – the more weeks I have like this, those results will come my way.”