With Sabalenka’s Title in Miami, A Rare Double-Double Is In Play – Tennis Now

It’s a once-in-a-decade type of experience. The Sunshine Doubles is a rare feat in men’s tennis and women’s tennis, with only five women and seven men completing the task.

Even rarer? Two in one season.

With the completion of Aryna Sabalenka’s title run on Saturday in Miami (she defeated Coco Gauff, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3), Jannik Sinner could complete the rare double-double on Sunday. Sinner, bidding for his second Miami Open title against Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic, is riding an 11-match winning streak at the Miami Open.

Sabalenka, coincidentally, stretched her Miami Open winning streak to 12 with her victory over Gauff on Saturday. Two of the best hardcourt players of their generation – and tennis history if we’re being fair – finished the hard court swing by rising to the moment, meeting expectations and proving that on hard courts, they are head and shoulders above the rest.

Seasons with Multiple Sunshine Double Winners

If you are wondering about correlation between the Sunshine Double and the US Open, it is interesting to note that the winners of the Sunshine Double don’t always dominate the hard courts at the end of the season. In 1994 Pete Sampras and Steffi Graf won the double, but neither one claimed the title at the US Open.

In 2005 Roger Federer and Kim Clijsters won the double and the US Open, and in 2016 Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka swept the Sunshine Double but failed to win titles at the US Open.

Seven of the previous Sunshine Double winners have gone on to win the US Open later that season.

Sunshine Double Winners US Open Result Later That Season