Sabalenka beats Pegula to clinch maiden Miami Open Crown

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka added another hard-court title to her legacy of excellence on the surface on Saturday. Sabalenka captured the Miami Open presented by Itaú title for the first time with a 7-5, 6-2 win over No. 4 Jessica Pegula in the final.

In a rematch of last year’s US Open final, Sabalenka took 1 hour and 28 minutes to best the American and capture the crown. Despite some very close sets between the two of late, Sabalenka has extended her head-to-head lead over Pegula to 7-2.

It was a big victory for Sabalenka, who suffered narrow losses in her last two finals, at the Australian Open (to Madison Keys) and Indian Wells (to Mirra Andreeva).

“Finally I was able to play my best tennis in the final, and I’m just super happy with the result and with the performance,” Sabalenka said, after her win.

“Going into this match, I had the mentality that no matter what happens, if she’s gonna break me, I had the mentality to stay there, to focus on myself, to fight for every point no matter what,” Sabalenka said.

“I didn’t want to lose another final, to be honest,” the champion continued. “It’s really tough to lose in the final. So if someone would say that, I’d be, like, ‘OK, it’s going to be a battle, I’m ready for that.'”

Sabalenka is now up to eight WTA 1000 singles titles in her career, equaling Maria Sharapova’s total. The only players ahead of her in WTA 1000 titles, dating back to the creation of that tier in 2009, are Serena Williams (13), Victoria Azarenka (10), Iga Swiatek (10), Simona Halep (9) and Petra Kvitova (9).

Overall, Sabalenka won her 19th Hologic WTA Tour singles title by triumphing in Miami. 17 of her 19 titles have come on her beloved hard court, including all three of her Grand Slam singles titles — the 2023 Australian Open, the 2024 Australian Open and the 2024 US Open.