Jasmine Paolini bows before world No. 1

If she plays her best tennis, beating her is almost impossible. After all, if she is number one in the world there must be a reason. Of course, her proverbial “moments of madness” are well known but if the mood is right there is none. With a performance disarming in power and determination Aryna Sabalenka qualified for the first time for the final of the “Miami Open,”the fourth WTA 1000 of the season (combined with the second ATP Masters 1000 in 2025) endowed with a prize pool of $8,963,700 that is being played on the concrete courts of the Hard Rock Stadium facility (the “home” of the NFL football’s Miami Dolphins), in Florida.

In what was for both of them their first semifinal match in the second “1000” of the “Sunshine Double,” the 26-year-old from Minsk, world number one, ruled Jasmine Paolini, No. 7 in the rankings and sixth seeded favorite, 62 62 in one hour and eleven minutes of play. With victory number 22, the Belarusian became the most successful player of this 2025. For Aryna it is – as mentioned – the first final in Miami, the fourth in the season (in the last ten years only Serena Williams has reached the title challenge more times – 5- in the first six tournaments played), the 35th in her career.

In the past 20 years, Sabalenka – who lost to Mirra Andreeva in the final of the BNP Paribas Open – is the sixth player to reach back-to-back final acts in Indian Wells and Miami after Clijsters (2005), Sharapova (2006, 2012, 2013), Azarenka (2016), Swiatek (2022) and Rybakina (2023).