Aryna Sabalenka had been talking about a moment like this for months with her team. Now it was here.
She had won the first set over Coco Gauff in the Miami Open final, just as she had when they played in the US Open in 2023, and the Roland Garros final in 2025. Sabalenka broke in the opening game, and broke again in the seventh game. She fired backhand winners to both corners, and closed with another on set point.
Read more: **Aryna Sunshine Double-enka! Sabalenka beats Coco Gauff to complete Indian Wells-Miami sweep**
Then, just as she had in New York and Paris, Gauff settled in, put her running shoes on, and turned a sprint into a slog. The American countered the Sabalenka assault with deep and heavy forehands. At 5-4, she grabbed a rare opportunity to break by injecting more pace into her return and surprising Sabalenka.
The crowd, as it was in those two Slam finals, was firmly and loudly—and maybe a little tipsily—behind Coco, who grew up just down the road.
In the past, this combination of events had broken Sabalenka emotionally, and caused her to sink under a blizzard of unforced errors. She had vowed things would be different this time.
