After losing to teenage sensation Alexandra Eala in the semi-finals, world number one Aryna Sabalenka will face Jessica Pegula in the Miami Open final on Saturday.
Sabalenka, a 26-year-old Belarusian, won the tournament by storming past Jasmine Paolini, who is yet to lose a set.
Mirra Andreeva defeated Sabalenka earlier this month at Indian Wells, making it two finals in a row. Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam champion, lost to Andreeva in the Indian Wells earlier this month.
Sabalenka, the top seed, dominated Italian Paolini on Thursday with powerful serves and punishing groundstrokes, having never before made it to the Miami showpiece.
In a victory that was only one hour and 13 minutes, Sabalenka barely put a foot wrong with her two mistimed overheads and an ambitious “tweener” shot that did not have enough power to trouble her opponent.
“I’m so happy that I had another chance, another final, and another chance to win,” Sabalenka said.
She is a fantastic player, so I knew I would work hard for every win.
Sabalenka reached her fourth final in 2025, defeating Andreeva at Indian Wells and American Madison Keys at the Australian Open in January.
On her way to the last four, Filipino Eala, who is ranked 140th in the world, defeated Jelena Ostapenko, Keys, and world number two Iga Swiatek, who had only won two WTA main draw titles before making it to Miami.
In a two-hour, 24 minute match, Pegula broke three records to win the second set, pushing the lowest-ranked semi-finalist in Miami Open history.
The stars must align, as they did this week, and I hope to be able to maintain that momentum. That’s my current goal, to maintain this momentum,” she said.
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Source: BBC
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