Miami Gardens, FL, USA : World number one Aryna Sabalenka will face Coco Gauff in the Miami Open final after the defending champion beat Elena Rybakina 6-4 6-3 on Thursday.
Sabalenka, chasing the rare “Sunshine Double” after her Indian Wells title, capitalised on errors from Rybakina to take control early and then surged 4-0 ahead in the second set.
Rybakina, who defeated Sabalenka in the Australian Open final in January, mounted a brief comeback but could not prevent the Belarusian from sealing a straight-sets victory.
“I really enjoy our rivalry, she’s an incredible player,” Sabalenka said. “I think I did everything right, she played great but I think I pushed her so much.”
Earlier, American world number four Gauff advanced with a dominant 6-1 6-1 win over Karolina Muchova to reach her sixth WTA 1000 final.
Gauff recovered from an early break to win the opening set convincingly and continued her momentum in the second, breaking three times as Muchova struggled with unforced errors.
The victory extended Gauff’s perfect record against the Czech to 6-0.
Saturday’s final will be the 13th meeting between Sabalenka and Gauff, with the pair having split their previous 12 encounters.
