Aryna Sabalenka, ranked first globally, secured her place in the Miami Open finals after dominating Jasmine Paolini from Italy in straight sets.
The 26-year-old Belarusian player has not dropped a single set throughout the tournament and demonstrated impressive play as she cruised to a 6-2 6-1 victory over the sixth-seeded Paolini.
Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam winner, has recently made it to back-to-back finals, though she was defeated by Mirra Andreeva at Indian Wells earlier this month.
It’s her maiden appearance at the Miami final, where Sabalenka will compete against either the young wild card from the Philippines, Alexandra Eala, or the American fourth-seed player, Jessica Pegula, for the championship on Saturday.
They will meet in the second semifinal on Friday.
The top-seeded Sabalenka put on a masterclass on Thursday, overpowering Paolini with her strong serving and aggressive baseline play.
Apart from two misjudged smashes and a overly ambitious drop shot that lacked sufficient force to challenge her rival, Sabalenka scarcely made a mistake as she powered through to triumph in merely one hour and 13 minutes.
"SUPER-happy that I managed to give myself yet another chance, another ultimate match, and another opportunity to lift a trophy," Sabalenka stated.
He or she is an amazing competitor, which means I understood that I'd have to fight for each point.
I concentrated on my serve and aimed to keep it as low as possible since she serves flat. Really pleased with how well I performed.
Sabalenka has made it to her fourth final of 2025 after securing victory in Brisbane back in January. She faced losses subsequently against American player Madison Keys at the Australian Open and later against Andreeva at Indian Wells just two weeks prior.
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