Can They Do the Sunshine Double? Sinner and Sabalenka Chase History at Miami Open

After Indian Wells glory, the world’s best return to the court for back-to-back 1000-level showdowns—and a place in tennis immortality

 

 

 

Published: March 16, 2026 | 4 min read

 

MIAMI — The desert is conquered. The sun has shifted east. And tennis’s biggest question now burns under the Florida sun:

Can they do it again?

Fresh off their Indian Wells triumphs, world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and world No.2 Jannik Sinner arrive in Miami with history on their minds. Win here, and they join an exclusive club: the “Sunshine Double.”

Back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami. Two weeks. Two 1000-level tournaments. One statement.

The Sunshine Double

 

 

Only four women have ever done it. No man has done it since Roger Federer in 2017 .

Martina Navratilova, who won the first Miami Open in 1985, explained why it’s so rare:

“It’s just because it’s tough fields, the biggest and the best. And then there’s the adjustment as far as weather and the courts. It just weighs you down. With back-to-back two-week events, it’s tough to stay on top of it for so long, physically or emotionally. It’s a longer stretch of engagement.”

Sabalenka

Sabalenka arrives in Miami riding the highest high of her career.

 

The world No.1 dropped to her knees in the desert after finally conquering her Indian Wells demons—two previous finals lost, including to Rybakina in 2023 .

Now she’s the defending champion in Miami. Win, and she joins Graf, Clijsters, Azarenka, and Swiatek in immortality.

Sinner

Jannik Sinner’s Indian Wells run was absurdly dominant.

 

The Italian hadn’t won Indian Wells before. Now he’s defending champion in Miami, chasing his own piece of history .

Sinner’s 2026 season started with an Australian Open quarterfinal loss to Novak Djokovic, but he’s been nearly untouchable since.

The British Charge: Draper Leads the Way

Jack Draper will lead British hopes in Miami after a mixed start to 2026.

 

Draper’s return from a long-term arm injury has been cautious. His second-round loss in Dubai to Arthur Rinderknech showed flashes but also rust. Miami offers a chance to build momentum before the clay season .

Who Else Is Hunting Glory?

 

Rybakina, despite the Indian Wells loss, will rise to world No.2 next week. Her rivalry with Sabalenka is now the defining matchup in women’s tennis—9-7 head-to-head, and counting .

Alcaraz suffered his first loss of 2026 in the Indian Wells semifinals to Medvedev, ending a 16-match winning streak . The Spaniard will be desperate to reassert himself in Miami.

How to Watch

Defending champions: Aryna Sabalenka (women), Jakub Mensik (men)

Two champions. Two chances at history. One hell of a two weeks.

Sabalenka is playing the best tennis of her life — engaged, happy, and unbeatable in big moments. Sinner hasn’t dropped a set in his last six matches and looks ready to dominate.

The Sunshine Double is rare for a reason. It takes everything—fitness, focus, luck, and nerve.

But if anyone can do it? These two look ready to try.

Gauff vs. Pegula: The Battle for American Supremacy at Indian Wells Begins Now

Two Americans. Two completely different paths. One burning question: Who owns the Sunshine Swing?

 

 

Published: March 1, 2026 | 4 min read

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INDIAN WELLS — The BNP Paribas Open is days away. The desert sun is blazing. And American tennis has a delicious problem.

Coco Gauff arrives as world No. 4, a two-time Grand Slam champion with athleticism that makes these gritty courts look like they were built for her.

Jessica Pegula arrives as world No. 5, fresh off a Dubai title, riding a run of seven consecutive semi-finals or better, and playing the best tennis of her life.

Which American woman leaves Tennis Paradise with the stronger result?

We asked Tennis Channel’s experts to settle the debate.

The Case for Coco Gauff

 

The Gauff argument: The 21-year-old has all the tools. The serve can be erratic, but when it’s on, she’s unplayable. Indian Wells’ surface rewards exactly what she does best: defense that turns into offense, athleticism that suffocates opponents, and a hunger to add a trophy that’s eluded her.

The Case for Jessica Pegula

 

The Pegula argument: Consistency is underrated. Pegula has been making deep runs like clockwork. The Dubai title wasn’t a fluke—it was validation. She knows who she is as a player, doesn’t try to be someone else, and executes relentlessly. The knee issue? The only real concern.

The Numbers

Gauff’s path: The serve is the key. When she’s landing first serves and dictating, she can beat anyone. When the double faults creep in, even qualifiers can hang. Indian Wells’ slower courts should help her get into rallies, but they also expose technical flaws.

Pegula’s path: Steady. Relentless. Boringly effective. She doesn’t beat herself. She makes opponents play one more ball, then another, then another. The question isn’t whether she’ll make the second week. It’s whether she has the firepower to beat a red-hot top seed in the semis.

Paul Annacone slipped in a third name: Emma Navarro.

“I do think Emma Navarro will have a good tournament,” he said, even while picking Gauff.

Navarro, the rising American star, has been quietly building. If either Gauff or Pegula stumble, she’s waiting.

The Verdict

 

The experts are split down the middle.

 

3-2 in favor of Pegula. But this isn’t a vote. It’s a tennis tournament.

Gauff has the higher ceiling. Pegula has the higher floor.

Gauff has the athleticism. Pegula has the consistency.

Gauff has the Grand Slams. Pegula has the current form.

The desert will decide.

What’s Next

 

Main draw action at Indian Wells kicks off Wednesday, March 4.

Gauff and Pegula are on opposite sides of the draw. A final meeting would be the dream scenario—two Americans battling for supremacy under the California sun.

And after everything they’ve said about each other? The respect is real. But so is the desire to win.

“A Title Would Be Nice”: Pegula’s 6-Word Prediction Comes True in Dubai Masterclass

American star dominates Svitolina to claim 10th WTA title, caps off dream month with birthday week celebration

 

 

February 21, 2026 | 3 min read

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Jessica Pegula walked into the Dubai final with a quiet confidence. She left with a trophy.

The American fourth seed dismantled Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-4 to claim the Dubai Tennis Championships title—her 10th WTA crown and the perfect cap to a blistering start to 2026.

Svitolina, a two-time Dubai champion (2017, 2018), came into the final on a high after outlasting Coco Gauff in a three-hour epic. But the tank was empty. Pegula smelled blood from the first ball.

Pegula had been knocking on the door all season. Semi-finals in Brisbane. Semi-finals at the Australian Open. Seven consecutive semi-finals on Tour, actually.

The math was simple.

“I made seven consecutive semi-finals and I was like, ‘You know what, a title would be nice, maybe it will happen this week’, and it did.”

Six words. Perfect prediction.

Pegula turns 32 on February 24. This trophy arrives two days early.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present,” she admitted.

Not bad for a player who just keeps getting better with age.

American History in Dubai

 

Pegula’s victory places her in elite company:

That’s the list. Three names. Two legends. Now Pegula joins them.

First set: Pegula exploded out of the gates, securing an early double break. Svitolina fought back briefly, but the American’s depth and angle forced error after error. Set done. 6-2.

Second set: More of the same. Pegula’s groundstrokes kept Svitolina pinned behind the baseline. The Ukrainian saved one championship point on her own serve, but couldn’t do anything about the next game. Pegula stepped up. Ace. Title. Celebration.

 

For Pegula, the season is just getting started. A 10th title at 31. A flawless start to 2026. And a birthday week she’ll never forget.

For Svitolina, another final, another tough loss. But after pushing Gauff for three hours and reaching the Dubai final for the third time, the Ukrainian knows she’s close.

Pegula, though? She’s already there.

“I can’t ask for much more. The last six months I’ve been playing some really good tennis.”

Understatement of the year.

Coco Gauff’s Blunt Message to America: “People Shouldn’t Be Dying in the Streets Just for Existing”

The 21-year-old tennis star refuses to stay silent on killings by federal agents, immigration crackdowns, and why she’ll never “shut up and dribble”

 

 

February 16, 2026 | 4 min read

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Coco Gauff is thousands of miles from home, preparing for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. But America keeps finding her.

The 21-year-old has had the news on in the background almost every day. She’s watching reports of harsh immigration crackdowns. Federal agents killing protesters. A country she loves drifting further from the values she was raised to believe in.

And she’s not staying silent.

“Everything going on in the US, obviously I’m not really for it. I don’t think people should be dying in the streets just for existing. I don’t like what’s going on,” Gauff said in Dubai on Sunday.

What Gauff Is Talking About

The world No. 4 specifically referenced the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good by federal agents in Minnesota. Incidents that have sparked outrage but received limited mainstream coverage.

For Gauff, this is personal.

“I think for me, it is tough to sometimes wake up and see something because I do care a lot about our country. I think people think I don’t for some reason, but I do. I’m very proud to be American.

“But I think when you’re from any country, you don’t have to represent the entire values of what’s going on in the leadership. I think there’s a lot of people around there who believe in the things I believe in, and believe in diversity and equality. So, I’m hoping as the future progresses that we can get back to those values.”

Gauff didn’t inherit just tennis talent from her family.

Her grandmother’s experiences have been passed down, not as history, but as a living guide to speaking truth to power.

Gauff has been hearing that rhetoric since she was a teenager. Her response has never wavered.

At 16, she stood at a Black Lives Matter rally in her hometown and delivered a stirring speech, quoting Martin Luther King Jr:

“The silence of the good people is worse than the brutality of the bad people.”

Her grandmother watched from the crowd.

Gauff has also spoken out against the killing of innocent civilians in Gaza, telling the National News two years ago:

“It’s important for us as privileged civilians to do our research and just continuing to demand our leaders to make change. I will never not advocate for that.”

When asked if she ever feels torn about wading into politics, her answer was immediate.

“I never felt torn when I’m asked a question because it is relevant. If you’re asking me, I’m going to tell you how I feel.”

She has little patience for those who tell athletes to stay in their lane.

“I think a lot of people on social media, on the other hand, like to say to stay out of politics, stay out of the things that are going on.

“You’re going to be asked these things in press. People want to hear our opinion on it. Some players choose to say ‘no comment’, which is also completely in their right. I understand that. Some prefer to state their opinion.

“I think the biggest thing I hate is when people say, ‘stay out of it’, when we’re being asked it. If you ask me, I’m going to give you my honest answer.

“When I’m asked, I have no problems. Because I’ve lived this. My grandma literally is an activist. This is literally my life. So I’m OK answering tough questions.”

What’s Next

 

Gauff begins her Dubai campaign Tuesday against Anna Kalinskaya. On the court, she’s world No. 4, a two-time Grand Slam champion, and one of tennis’s brightest stars.

Off the court, she’s something else entirely. A 21-year-old who refuses to look away. Who carries her grandmother’s legacy into every press conference. Who believes that athletes have both a right and a responsibility to speak.

“I don’t think people should be dying in the streets just for existing.”

It’s not a political statement. It’s a human one. And Coco Gauff isn’t backing down.

Coco Gauff Blasts Broadcasters Over Privacy After Australian Open Racket Smash

Published: 27 January 2026 | 2 min read

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MELBOURNE — Coco Gauff has accused broadcasters of violating her privacy after cameras captured her smashing her racket following a crushing Australian Open quarterfinal defeat.

The 21-year-old American, ranked world No. 3, lost 6-1, 6-2 to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in just 59 minutes—a performance marred by 26 unforced errors. Visibly frustrated, Gauff walked behind a wall near the match call area to vent in private, unaware that a camera was still rolling.

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“I Tried to Go Somewhere With No Cameras”

“I tried to go somewhere where there were no cameras,” Gauff told reporters after the match. “I kind of have a thing with the broadcast. I feel like certain moments—the same thing happened to Aryna [Sabalenka] after I played her in the final of the US Open—I feel like they don’t need to broadcast.”

Sabalenka, now world No. 1, had her own racket-smashing moment broadcast after losing to Gauff in the 2023 US Open final—a parallel Gauff clearly hasn’t forgotten.

“I tried to go somewhere where they wouldn’t broadcast it, but obviously they did. Maybe some conversations can be had, because I feel like at this tournament the only private place we have is the locker room.”

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Why She Needed an Outlet

Gauff defended her actions, explaining that venting frustration privately prevents her from lashing out at her team.

“I know myself, and I don’t want to lash out on my team. They’re good people. They don’t deserve that, and I know I’m emotional.

“I just took the minute to go and do that. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I don’t try to do it on court in front of kids and things like that, but I do know I need to let out that emotion.

“Otherwise, I’m just going to be snappy with the people around me, and I don’t want to do that.”