Aryna Sabalenka explains what Jessica Pegula was doing during the first set of their Miami Open final that was ‘almost impossible’ to deal with

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Aryna Sabalenka was dominant in Miami, winning the title without dropping a set.

The world number one continued her impressive form in 2025, as Sabalenka beat Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the final of the Miami Open.

Taking home her eighth WTA 1000 crown, the Belarussian star produced another stellar display, battling hard in an entertaining contest.

Sabalenka had beaten Danielle Collins, Qinwen Zheng, and Jasmine Paolini on her way to the final, knocking out three seeded players in Florida.

Securing victory over Pegula in the final, Sabalenka now reveals what the American did during the first set that made things difficult.

Aryna Sabalenka says Jessica Pegula’s deep shots in the Miami final were ‘almost impossible’ to counter

Speaking to Sky Sports after her straight sets win in the Miami Open final, Sabalenka explained what her opponent did that was ‘almost impossible’ to counter.

“We are working a lot on variety of the game, and I think especially against her, it’s very important to mix the height,” she said.

“In the first set she was playing super quick, super deep, super flat and it was almost impossible to go for those shots.

“In the second set, I gave myself a little advantage in the beginning so I could play a little bit, bring this variety, and I’m happy it worked and happy with the title.”

Sabalenka broke Pegula’s serve seven times in the final, as the Belarussian now gives her honest opinion on the conditions during the match.

“The conditions were tough today for both of us and she was breaking my serve quite often, it was back and forth the whole match,” she said.

“I’m super happy that I was there, fighting no matter what, and even after each game she broke, I was fighting back, and I was breaking her back.”

The win was Sabalenka’s seventh against Pegula, and she was pleased to win her third final in a row against the world number four.

“Honestly, I’m speechless, the last couple of finals were really tough and tight and close ones for me,” she said.

“So going into this one, I was so focused on myself, I was just super focused, I was playing point by point.

“Now it feels super special, and I’m super happy with the title, first one in Miami, it’s incredible.”

Aryna Sabalenka extends her advantage as world number one with Miami Open win

With her win over Pegula in Saturday’s final, Sabalenka further widened the gap to world number two Iga Swiatek in the WTA rankings.

The Belarussian now leads her Polish rival by over 3,000 points, leaving Swiatek a mountain to climb over the coming months.

To make matters worse, Swiatek has more points to defend than Sabalenka on the clay, thanks to her brilliant performances on the surface in 2024.

Iga Swiatek’s points to defend on clay

• Stuttgart Open – Lost in SF (195 points)
• Madrid Open – Won (1,000 points)
• Italian Open – Won (1,000 points)
• French Open – Won (2,000 points)
• Total – (4,195 points)

Aryna Sabalenka’s points to defend on clay

• Stuttgart Open – Lost in QF (108 points)
• Madrid Open – Lost in F (650 points)
• Italian Open – Lost in F (650 points)
• French Open – Lost in QF (430 points)
• Total – (1,838 points)

Swiatek could win every clay tournament available in 2025 and would still not surpass Sabalenka for the number one ranking, regardless of how the 26-year-old performs at the same events.

It seems as though Sabalenka will hold the top spot for quite some time, but it’ll certainly be interesting to see if Swiatek can repeat her 2024 success on clay this time around.

Both Sabalenka and Swiatek will now head to Germany for the Stuttgart Open, which begins on April 14.