Aryna Sabalenka Shines in Showpiece to Achieve Sunshine Double
Locker Room
March 29, 2026
Aryna Sabalenka stretched out her arms in triumph and savoured her acceptance into an elite tennis club.
She had defeated the gutsy Coco Gauff in a three-set thriller to complete the Sunshine Double.
And this wasn’t just sweet revenge for her painful French Open final loss to Gauff last year.
It also meant that Sabalenka became part of a Famous Five featuring some of the sport’s finest women.
Only the great Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka and Iga Swiatek had previously won Indian Wells and Miami in quick succession.
Aryna Sabalenka will aim to follow up her American success with Grand Slam glory this summer. She’ll go all out to win her first grass court major at Wimbledon 2026.
And you can join an elite club of your own if you purchase your Centre Court debenture seats with us.
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Back in Miami, Sabalenka was rightly respectful with the words she initially spoke to the popular Coco Gauff, who had fought hard in her own back yard to try to land her first Miami title.
Aryna said: ‘Coco…I want to start with you. You’re a fighter. You also pushed me so hard to be a better player and I like our rivalry.
‘You’re incredible. I’m happy to see you back in the finals and I really hope we play many more.’
But that veneer of respect slipped somewhat when she seemed to detract from Gauff’s comeback in the middle set – and ignore the pressure Coco had placed her under.
Sabalenka said: ‘I made a couple of unforced errors in the last game and gave her a set. But I was really mentally strong in my head.’
It’s true that Aryna is more forgiving of herself these days. And that enabled her to bounce back from those potentially costly mistakes to take the Miami title 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
But Coco Gauff might just want to bank that throwaway remark and use it as further motivation if they meet again later this summer.
Aryna Sabalenka versus Coco Gauff would be a fitting showdown at the business end of Wimbledon 2026 in July.
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