Aryna Sabalenka lifted her second title of 2025 at the Miami Open after defeating Jessica Pegula, becoming just the fourth player this century to win the title as the world No 1.
Here, we take a look back at the other three players to do so – and their respective runs to the titles – in chronological order.
Martina Hingis – 2000
Martina Hingis – then the world No 1 – opened the 21st century with a dominant tournament at the Miami Open, not dropping a single set along the way.
In the second-round, the Swiss defeated Maureen Drake 6-3, 6-2 before beating Anne-Gaelle Sidot in her next match.
Once in the last 16, Hingis came up against future Grand Slam winner Kim Clijsters – who was just 16-years-old. The world No 1 faced no trouble breezing past the Belgian 6-0, 6-4 and went on to defeat Amanda Coetzer 6-3, 6-1 in the quarter-finals.
In the semi-finals, the Swiss was in full flight against seventh seed Monica Seles and handed her a 6-0, 6-0 loss in just 39 minutes.
After that victory, Hingis admitted that Seles was possibly feeling discomfort: “Not everyone knows what’s going on behind the scenes. Monica just wasn’t herself today.”
The showpiece match would see the two best players in the world go head-to-head, with Hingis defeating Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 6-2.
Serena Williams – 2003, 2013, 2014, 2015
In the 2003 Miami Open final, Serena Williams defeated fellow American Jenifer Capriati 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 – having dominated the tournament in previous rounds.
Williams once again came from a set down in her 2013 final against Maria Sharapova to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, her 11th consecutive victory against the Russian.
In 2014, Williams won a record-breaking seventh title in Miami. This time, Li Na was her victim – defeated 7-5, 6-1. After her victory, she stated: “It was a really important victory, especially playing Li Na, who has been playing so well. She started out so well. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I just need to hang in here.’ Then I heard some fans trying to pull me through. If it hadn’t been for you guys I wouldn’t be standing here right now.”
Williams defeated twelfth-seed Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-0 for her eighth Miami Open title and continued her undefeated run in 2015. The American needed just 58 minutes to finish the job, something which Suarez Navarro knew was likely: “When I play with Serena, I know that she’s the best. She has the game to make me play bad.”
Ashleigh Barty – 2021
Ashleigh Barty began the 2021 edition of the Miami Open with a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 over Kristina Kucova, before defeating former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 in the third-round.
In the last 16, the Australian survived a topsy-turvy 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 match against the tricky Victoria Azarenka and an even tougher quarter-final encounter against Aryna Sabalenka – squeezing out a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 win.
Against Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals, things were more straightforward for Barty – gaining a 6-3, 6-3 victory.
In the showpiece match, the former world No 1 would face former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu and lead 6-3, 4-0 before the Canadian retired due to an ankle injury.
Barty stated: “It’s brutal. It’s never the way you want to finish a tennis match. I just feel for Bianca.”
