MIAMI: Aryna Sabalenka scored a dominant straight-sets 6-4, 6-3 victory in Miami semifinal against Elena Rybakina and moved one win away from the coveted Sunshine Double.
The win, her 10th in their tour-leading 17 WTA Tour, sends her to a second straight final in Miami. Coincidentally, Sabalenka is the first player to reach consecutive Miami Open finals since Rybakina in 2023 and 2024, and the first to do so as World No. 1 since Serena Williams from 2013 to 2015.
At 4-5 in the opening set, Sabalenka, as champions do, broke Rybakina with a combination punch of a cross-court backhand followed by a ferocious overhead.
Set two was more routine with a dominant 4-0 start, until Sabalenka eventually served it out at love, ending with a T-serve followed with a howitzer cross-court forehand. Sabalenka roared and signed the camera lens with her nickname: “Tiger.”