Miami is a special place for Aryna Sabalenka, especially the hard courts, which perfectly suit her powerful style of play.
Her recent victory at the Miami Open final against Jessica Pegula, with scores of 7-5, 6-2, demonstrates her exceptional form. Currently, no player seems capable of consistently challenging her on fast hard courts.
Pegula, ranked No. 4 in the WTA Tour, and also known for her hard-court skills, has struggled against Sabalenka, losing seven of their last eight encounters, all in straight sets.
In a critical moment during the first set, at 5-5 and facing a love-15 score on her serve, Sabalenka showed her resilience by winning the next nine points, securing the set and eventually the match.
Pegula acknowledged Sabalenka`s ability to elevate her game during crucial moments as the key difference in their matches.
Sabalenka`s dominance on hard courts over the past two years is statistically significant. If you were to bet on Sabalenka against any other player in hard-court Grand Slams, you would have been correct three out of five times. Her dominance in women`s tennis is evident in several aspects:
- She leads the WTA rankings with 10,541 points, over 3,000 points ahead of No. 2 Iga Swiatek, and importantly, she has no points to defend at Wimbledon.
- She has won more matches (23) and more straight-set wins (20) than any other woman this year, and has reached the most finals (four).
- Against Top 10 players, her record is 12-2 since last year. She also leads in winners hit this year with 716.
Despite losing in the finals of the Australian Open and Indian Wells, Sabalenka achieved a rare feat by reaching the finals in Melbourne, Indian Wells, and Miami in the same season, becoming only the third woman to do so.
In her Miami Open run, Sabalenka defeated three Top 10 players – Pegula, Jasmine Paolini, and Zheng Qinwen – for only the second time in her career, securing her first Miami title after seven attempts. She conceded only 30 games throughout the tournament.
Only Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams have won more WTA 1000 hard-court titles than Sabalenka`s six, suggesting that at 26, she is just beginning to reach her peak.
Sabalenka`s powerful game has evolved subtly. While she may not be serving as many aces, she is serving more effectively by aiming for targets with more control. She has also incorporated more drop shots and, significantly, improved her slice. Against Pegula, almost 20% of her shots were slices, enhancing the effectiveness of her powerful groundstrokes.
Pegula noted improvements in Sabalenka`s movement and her addition of slices and drop shots, which complement her aggressive play style.
After her victory, Sabalenka mentioned looking forward to relaxing in Miami and celebrating with her team.
In a brief interview, Sabalenka explained the importance of winning her first Miami title, especially as she considers Miami her home. She emphasized her determination to overcome past final losses and her satisfaction in performing her best at home. She also highlighted the importance of variety in her game, particularly the slice, as a crucial element for continued improvement and success.
Regarding a fun fact about leading in hard-court titles since 2017, Sabalenka acknowledged it as “crazy” and “impressive,” recognizing her hard work paying off, especially considering Swiatek`s clay-court prowess.
When asked about her significant ranking lead and no Wimbledon points to defend, Sabalenka stated she isn`t focused on rankings but on continuous self-improvement and maintaining her best performance. She humorously expressed hope to further extend her points lead.
Looking ahead to the clay season, Sabalenka expressed excitement, starting with Stuttgart, then Madrid, Rome, and Paris. Despite questions about her clay-court game, she believes in her potential and plans to focus on fitness to endure longer rallies. Having reached two clay finals last year, she aims to win a clay title this year, promising to fight for every point and hoping to lift trophies.
