Tennis great Martina Navratilova believes that Aryna Sabalenka may have further \u201cstamped her signature\u201d on the 2026 season following her triumph at the Miami Open.<\/p>\n
World No 1 Sabalenka defeated Coco Gauff in three sets to successfully retain her Miami title on Saturday<\/a>, defeating the fourth seed 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to claim back-to-back victories at the WTA 1000 event.<\/p>\n Victory for the Belarusian saw her not only defend her crown in Miami, but also become just the fifth woman to complete the \u2018Sunshine Double\u2019 following her victory in Indian Wells earlier this month<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tennis News<\/p>\n Miami Open: Former world No 4 reveals \u2018what is exciting for Coco Gauff\u2019 after impressive run<\/a><\/p>\n Aryna Sabalenka eyeing up Serena Williams all-time rankings record after Miami Open win<\/a><\/p>\n Sabalenka<\/a> has contested just four tournaments in 2026 but has reached at least the final in all four of them, with her only defeat coming to Elena Rybakina in the championship match of the Australian Open.<\/p>\n At the start of 2026, Sabalenka triumphed at the Brisbane International<\/a>, and her triumphs in Indian Wells and Miami mean she has won a tour-leading three titles already this season.<\/p>\n The 27-year-old holds a commanding lead as the world No 1 and, despite Rybakina\u2019s recent resurgence, clearly remains the woman to beat on the WTA Tour.<\/p>\n Sabalenka finished 2024 and 2025 as the year-end world No 1, and 18-time Grand Slam singles champion Navratilova<\/a> appears to believe that another dominant year lies in wait for the Belarusian.<\/p>\n Speaking on Tennis Channel following Saturday\u2019s final, Navratilova backed Sabalenka to continue her dominance across the season after a flawless \u2018Sunshine Double\u2019 run.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cCoco Gauff gave it everything she had. I thought she held her nerve really well.<\/p>\n \u201cBut Sabalenka, she\u2019s got too much firepower, she just keeps coming at you, and Sabalenka showing what a champion she is.<\/p>\n \u201cTo win these two tournaments [Indian Wells and Miami] back to back now, that they\u2019re two weeks each. It\u2019s a really, really difficult feat. So, Sabalenka on the big front foot to the rest of the field, she\u2019s done something that is done very rarely, and there\u2019s a reason for that: \u2018I\u2019m number one.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, [we\u2019re] probably looking back on this one as where she really stamped her signature on the season, but well done to both players.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a good match. It was well-played, high-quality tennis. Some drama; the crowd didn\u2019t get who they wanted to win, but Sabalenka the rightful winner.\u201d<\/p>\n With the \u2018Sunshine Swing\u2019 now complete, Sabalenka and the rest of the WTA Tour will turn their attentions to the upcoming clay-court swing.<\/p>\n The Belarusian has found success on clay in recent years, most notably at the Madrid Open \u2014 where she holds a joint-record of three titles at the WTA 1000 event.<\/p>\n Sabalenka will be looking to defend her Madrid Open title in early May, but her clay swing will begin at the Women\u2019s Stuttgart Open in mid-April.<\/p>\n The world No 1 has lost all four finals she has contested in Stuttgart, most recently falling to Jelena Ostapenko in 2025.<\/p>\n Sabalenka will also likely compete at the Italian Open in Rome this May, where she previously finished as the runner-up to Iga Swiatek in 2024.<\/p>\n But, her main target will likely be the French Open title, where she will look to bounce back from last year\u2019s three-set final loss to Gauff.<\/p>\n Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n