Sabalenka reaches second straight Miami SF, sets rematch with Rybakina

Miami: World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka secured a convincing 6-4, 6-4 win over Hailey Baptiste to advance to her second consecutive semifinal at the Miami Open.

Baptiste matched Sabalenka shot for shot early on, but the top seed maintained her aggressive style and gradually took control. Sabalenka saved three break points in the opening set, consistently putting pressure on the 24-year-old American. Despite her strong play, Baptiste eventually faltered, with a double fault handing Sabalenka the first set.

In the second set, Baptiste showed resilience by breaking back to level at 4-4 after trailing by a break. However, after Sabalenka held for 5-4, the American struggled again, committing three double faults that gave Sabalenka match point. The Belarusian then sealed the victory with a crosscourt forehand winner.

The win sets up a semifinal clash between Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina — their 17th career meeting on the WTA Tour. Sabalenka leads their head-to-head 9-7 and also won their most recent encounter in the Indian Wells Open final two weeks ago, where she saved a match point before lifting the trophy.

Earlier, third seed Rybakina reached her third Miami semifinal by defeating fifth seed Jessica Pegula 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 after recovering from a slow start. The match lasted two hours and 15 minutes.

World No. 2 Rybakina is now into her second semifinal of 2026, having already claimed her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.

Rybakina holds a 2-0 record in Miami semifinals so far. She defeated Pegula in 2023 and Victoria Azarenka in 2024, though she went on to lose both finals — to Petra Kvitova in 2023 and Danielle Collins in 2024.

With inputs from IANS