Elena Rybakina lost to Sabalenka in straight sets at Miami Open semifinals
On March 27, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina (world No. 2) faced Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (world No. 1) in the semifinals atthe Miami Open, Qazinform News Agency cites Sprts.kz.
The match was decided in two sets, with Sabalenka prevailing 6:4, 6:3, securing her place in the final.
Next Sabalenka will face American Coco Gauff (world No. 4). A victory would make Sabalenka the Miami Open champion for the second consecutive year.
The tournament runs from March 17 to 28, with a total prize pool of 9,415,725 US dollars. The women’s singles champion will earn 1,151,380 US dollars and 1,000 ranking points.
Sabalenka currently leads the WTA rankings with 11,025 points, while Rybakina holds second place with a personal record of 7,783 points, a gap of 2,342 points. Sabalenka has spent 75 consecutive weeks at No. 1, equaling Iga Świątek’s mark — the 12th longest streak in tennis history.
At this tournament, Sabalenka is defending 1,000 points from last year’s victory, while Rybakina had only 35 points to defend. Both semifinal appearances already earned them 390 points each.
This season, the two rivals have met twice: Rybakina won the Australian Open final, while Sabalenka took revenge in the Indian Wells final, saving a match point in a dramatic tiebreak. Overall, their head-to-head record now stands at 9–7 in favor of Sabalenka.
Notably, Elena Rybakina recently rose to world No. 2 following her strong performance at Indian Wells.
