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Aryna Sabalenka had many reasons to believe that history could have been grimly repeating itself on Saturday afternoon. Despite starting her Miami Open final against Coco Gauff striking the ball with clear-minded aggression, the complexion of the match rapidly changed. Suddenly, having been pulled into a tense final set, she was struggling to hold on.

Similar scenarios played out in her two most important matches against Gauff, and both times Sabalenka had pitifully crumbled under pressure in the final set. For all her imperfections, though, the Belarusian’s career has been defined by her desperation to improve. Here, she maintained her composure as she underlined her status as the best player in the world by edging out Gauff 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in a quality battle to win the Miami Open for the second year in a row.

Sabalenka has become just the fifth woman in history to win Indian Wells and Miami in the same year, the feat now known as the Sunshine Double. Across her 12 wins in 22 days, the 27-year-old has dropped just two sets, beating three opponents ranked inside the top four. This is the 11th WTA 1000 title of Sabalenka’s career as she continues to establish herself as one of the greatest players of her generation.

The early stages went according to form as the world No 1 burst into the match striking the ball so cleanly, completely dominating Gauff from the baseline with her superior firepower. To her immense credit, the American dug into the match and elevated her level under immense pressure. She played a great second set, serving well in decisive moments, injecting more pace into her second serve and boldly attacking her forehand. She then took her opportunities well, breaking at 5-4 to force a final set.

Both times Sabalenka and Gauff faced each other in grand slam finals, at the 2023 US Open and the French Open last year, the former was also dragged into a final set after winning the first set and panicked under pressure. They are two of the most difficult losses of Sabalenka’s career. This time, she remained calm, immediately regrouping and snatching the decisive break of the final set in Gauff’s opening service game.

Despite suffering another crushing loss in a grand slam final at the Australian Open, against Elena Rybakina, Sabalenka has started 2026 with a 23-1 record. This is the third season she has been ranked No 1 yet she is still only improving, continuing to develop her game and better understand how to harness her enormous power and ball striking into performing at a consistently high level each week. As has been the case for many years now, her evolution as a player has been astounding. From her early years when she was so raw and inconsistent, hellbent on destroying every last tennis ball without any sense of strategy, she is now such a well-rounded and smart player.

Not even Sabalenka could imagine such a transformation: “[If I told] Aryna, when she was 15 years old: ‘Oh, by the way, in 2026 you’re going to be doing this, this, and that.’ I’ll be like: ‘OK, whatever.’ So that’s a dream life. And I’m super happy that the hard work really pays off. So, yeah, super happy right now.”

This has been a difficult year for Gauff, who is still in the process of attempting to overhaul her service motion after her second serve completely fell apart last year. Considering she was coming into the Miami Open with an arm injury, she exceeded her modest expectations for the tournament and has played some quality tennis, particularly in her last few rounds.

Gauff has spent most of her life in Delray Beach and her presence in such a marquee final led to a record sellout crowd of 16,800. She looked devastated after losing such a significant match while so close to winning one of the most important tournaments in her career, but she heads towards the clay-court season, and her French Open title defence, on the right track again.