MIAMI Gardens, Fla. – Arena Sabalenka entered the Miami Open Finals with Jessica Pegura with 18 career titles on her elite resume.
Miami’s Open Crown had proven elusive until Saturday.
Belarus’ first seed knocked out fourth seeded American Jessica Pegra 7-5, 6-2 for her first Miami Open title in the 2024 US Open Finals rematch.
Sabalenka fired a fatal forehand by listing 22 winners on its wings and winning a $1.1 million first prize. Sabalenka hit a backhand pass shot at matchpoint before lifting her hands into the air and looking up at the sky.
“Thank God that the rain has stopped,” Sabalenka said, praised the crowd after the victory. “It was like Miami was crying to win this tournament. I enjoyed playing here.”
Three-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka won US Open over Pegula on a 7-5, 7-5 straight set, but in 2025 Sabalenka’s final rack was exhausted.
The 26-year-old power player reached the finals of four of the six events this year, but only copied one title (Brisbane) before Miami. Sabalenka lost in the Australian Open and the Indian Wells final. This is an event that precedes Miami.
Sabalenka currently lives in Miami, but Pegra had crowd support. Pegra, 31, from Buffalo, has been living in Boca Raton since she was 13 and is the daughter of Terry Pegra, the owner of Buffalo Bills and Sabres. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was present as a meeting of league owners will be held on Monday in nearby Palm Beach.
“Congratulations, Alina and your team,” Pegra said by accepting the court’s runner-up trophy. “I really, really don’t like you, but you know, you’re the best player in the world for a reason. And you keep pushing everyone and everyone to get better.”
Neither player was able to hold the serve well in the first set. Sabalenka defeated Pegula’s serve four times to score 7-5, earning the final eight points of the set.
Pegra took a break 3-2 but was unable to hold it in the Topsitter Bee Set, where he saw Pegra break Sabalenka’s serve three times.
At 5-5, Sabalenka won Serve in Love with a 6-5 lead, hitting three straight winners (two on the net), before breaking Pegula with Love.
Sabalenka led the series against Pegra 7-2, winning the final three meetings.
The Men’s Doubles Final was stopped in the rain on the first set with one card, and it rained at No. 1 seed Marcelo Arevaro/Mate Pavic Reading No. 6 Julian Cash/Lloyd Grass Pool 7-6, 3-2. 30-30. Arevalo/Pavic quickly concluded the championship 7-6, 6-3, but the rain delay caused him to be more than an hour late in the women’s final at 3pm.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.