Coco Gauff took down Karolina Muchova 6-1, 6-1 to reach her first Miami Open final.
It was one of the cleanest matches we’ve seen from the American, who was nearly flawless from start to finish. In a performance this dominant, there’s not much you could say about what went wrong for Muchova – this was more about Gauff reaching another level.
Her opponent in the title match will be either Aryna Sabalenka or Elena Rybakina.
Afterward, Gauff spoke with Tim Henman and Gigi Salmon about the two potential finalists, and Jessica Pegula later echoed her thoughts.
Coco Gauff says Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka are the two best players in women’s tennis
Gauff is looking forward to testing her game against the world’s top two players.
“Playing Aryna [Sabalenka] or Elena [Rybakina], it’s going to be a tough match,” she said.
“They’re definitely playing the best tennis right now on tour, but I think it’s a good matchup for me to test my game.
“I don’t think I’ve played either of them yet this year, so I think it will be a good matchup to see where I am, and obviously, I am going out there with the belief to win.”
Gauff’s comments come a day after Pegula claimed Rybakina and Sabalenka were the top two players on the WTA Tour.
“I mean, they’ve been the best in the world. I can’t be upset that I’m losing to, like, the two best players in the world,” said Pegula.
Pegula lost her fifth consecutive match against Rybakina in the Miami Open quarterfinals.
Coco Gauff weighs up Aryna Sabalenka or Elena Rybakina as Miami Open final opponent
Gauff has plenty of respect for both players, but she has far less experience facing Rybakina.
She’s only played the Kazakhstani once before, way back at the Canadian Open in 2020. A lot has changed since then – not just for Gauff, but for Rybakina too.
Sabalenka is a different story. Gauff has faced her 12 times and their head-to-head is even at 6-6.
More importantly, some of those wins came on the biggest stages. She beat Sabalenka to win her first Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open and did it again at Roland Garros in 2024.
If past finals are anything to go by, Gauff might quietly prefer a rematch with Sabalenka over stepping into new territory against Rybakina. But either way, she’ll be ready.
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