Sabalenka stops Gauff from completing Sunshine Double in Miami final – Tennis Now
By Richard Pagliaro Saturday, March 28, 2026
Image source: Miami Open Facebook
When the shadow completely falls over Hard Rock Stadium Alina Sabalenka Catch the sunshine in style with your doubles.
The world’s number one Sabalenka takes action Coco Gough In today’s Miami Open final, he successfully defended the Miami crown with 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 and made history.
Sabalenka, 27, became the fifth woman to win the Sunshine Doubles, winning back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami. Steffi Graf (1994, 1996), Kim Clijsters (2005), Victoria Azarenka (2016) and Iga Swiatek(2022). Together with the legendary Graf, Sabalenka became the second defending world number one to complete the Sunshine Double.
“It sounds crazy,” Sabalenka later told Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj. “It sounds unreal and I honestly don’t know how I achieved this.
“I’m so grateful, so happy, so proud right now.
It was Sabalenka’s 12th consecutive win, cementing her status as the true world No. 1. Nearly two weeks ago, the powerful Belarusian saved title points by defeating Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) in a thrilling Indian Wells final.
Sabalenka broke Gauff’s perfect record of 9-0 in hard court finals and avenged her loss to the American player 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 in the 2025 French Open final. Sabalenka is 23-1 this year, winning three titles in four starts.
Sabalenka won her 24th career title and 21st on hard courts, finishing the month with a sunshine double. During the month, she got engaged to Georgios Frangulis, competed with an engagement stone on her finger, adopted a puppy, Ash, had the matchup of the year against Rybakina in tennis heaven, and defended Miami against hometown favorite Gauff and a rowdy female fan.
A proactive Sabalenka faced just two break points in the match, while Delray Beach-born baseliner Gauff betrayed his cause with seven double faults.
This Miami Open final is a rematch of the 2023 US Open final.
That day, Goff’s stalwart defense defeated Sabalenka in three sets at Flushing Meadows.
The two sides reached a stalemate today, with Sabalenka dashing the Americans’ disappointed hopes.
“I know Coco very well,” Sabalenka told Tennis Channel’s Andrea Petkovic. “We knew she wasn’t going to give me this final easily.
“I knew she was going to fight and she was going to put every ball back in my side. I was trying to stay positive going into the third set. I had to be more focused on those key moments in the game.”
The first two games of the third set were crucial. Sabalenka immediately broke serve to enter the third set.
Walk into the courtroom to decide the direction of the rally. Sabalenka quickly held serve at 15 minutes, 2-0.
The two exchanged love in games six and seven. Sabalenka kept serving to lead 5-3.
In the final, Gauff was surprised to see Sabalenka shred a forehand pass from the baseline to earn the championship point.
When Goff’s final backhand shot went wide, Sabalenka won her second straight Miami Open title in two hours and nine minutes. The U.S. Open champion nearly broke the opener with double break points in the fifth game. Gauff eliminated a total of three break points and completed a wide serve within nine minutes of holding time to make the score 2-3.
A subplot to that last story: Gavin MacMillan, Gauff’s coach in charge of fixing her sometimes wayward serve, had previously coached Sabalenka and helped fix her serve issues.
Sabalenka’s serve is a more powerful weapon on hard courts. After 29 minutes, the top-seeded team hit an ace in the T-zone to bring the score to 4-2.
Gauff double-faulted and put her in break point trouble. Sabalenka broke serve again with a backhand winner, making the score 5-2.
Sabalenka, who played much of the first set on her front foot, capped the 37-minute opener with a backhand winner.
On a Miami court that’s faster than Indian Wells, Sabalenka’s commitment to the first shot and her targeted baseline attack were too much for Gauff’s defensive counterattack.
The Sunshine Double Day continues the best months of Sabalenka’s golden year.
“What could be better than this month? Definitely one of the best months of my life,” Sabalenka said. “Dogs. Engagement. Sunshine double. I have no idea how crazy this is. Absolutely the best month of my life.”
