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World's top two set up semi-final showdown in Miami
Reuters • March 26th, 2026 3:38 pm
Aryna Sabalenka has fought off a spirited last-eight display from Hailey Baptiste in Florida | Photo: AP
Women's tennis' world No.1 and two, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, will battle it out in a Miami Open semi-final after coming through their respective quarter-final matches.
Top seed Sabalenka took down American Hailey Baptiste 6-4 6-4 and is looking to complete the coveted 'Sunshine Double' after her triumph in the Indian Wells decider over fellow big-hitter Rybakina earlier this month.
With the win, the defending champion from Belarus improved to 21-1 for the year. She also holds a 9-7 edge over Rybakina in their career meetings.
"It's definitely going to be a battle," Sabalenka said in an on-court interview.
"It's always a battle, always a fight, always a challenge.
"We push each other to the limit and we always bring the best tennis ... these are the matches where I get better as a player."
Earlier on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT), Rybakina rallied from a set down to beat Jessica Pegula 2-6 6-3 6-4 to reach the last four of the WTA 1000 event for the third time.
Rybakina recovered from a slow start at Hard Rock Stadium to claim her fifth consecutive win over the American, following earlier victories this season at the Australian Open and Indian Wells.
"It's always very difficult matches with Jessica," the 26-year-old Kazakh said.
"She started playing well, and I was a bit rushing and frustrated, but I'm happy that I managed to bounce back and turn it around in the second set.
"Couple times I got lucky. I was trying to come a little bit more to the net. Jessica plays very fast and sometimes short, so it was not easy to just stay back I had to adapt a little bit."
Thursday's other semi will see American Coco Gauff take on Czech Karolina Muchova.
