The only player to win the Sunshine Double without a Grand Slam title

Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka both joined the list of players to win the Sunshine Double after their respective triumphs at Indian Wells and the Miami Open.

Sabalenka beat Coco Gauff in Miami, while Sinner edged past Jiri Lehecka to complete the rare feat.

Sinner became just the eighth man to achieve it, while Sabalenka is only the fifth woman to do so in back-to-back tournaments.

13 players across both tours have won the Sunshine Double, but only one of them has managed it without ever claiming a Grand Slam title.

Marcelo Rios won the Sunshine Double but not a Grand Slam

Marcelo Rios pulled off the Sunshine Double in 1998, becoming the fourth man to do so by taking titles at both Indian Wells and Miami.

He got past Greg Rusedski in the final at Indian Wells, then followed that up with a win over Andre Agassi in Miami to cap off an impressive run.

The Chilean’s efforts also helped him reach world number one for the first time, climbing to the top of the rankings that year.

But even with those accomplishments, Rios never managed to win a Grand Slam before he retired from professional tennis.

Despite that gap on his record, he’s still widely regarded as one of the most talented players never to win a major, finishing his career with 18 titles overall.

How close did Marcelo Rios come to winning a Grand Slam?

Despite being one of the most talented players of his generation, Rios never managed to win a Grand Slam, which remains one of tennis’s great oddities.

The Chilean’s major tournament record was unusual, especially given how highly he was ranked for much of his career.

He made it past the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam just once, reaching the final of the 1998 Australian Open. In that match, he lost in straight sets to Petr Korda, with a scoreline of 6-2 6-2 6-2.

Even though clay was his preferred surface, Rios never advanced beyond the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.

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