“I’m super happy to have this trophy.” World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka expressed her feelings in the post-match conference on Saturday, after clinching her maiden Miami Open title. Against a familiar opponent, Jessica Pegula in the summit clash, the three-time Slam champion reigned supreme, winning in straight sets. With this victory, the Belarusian also completed a hattrick of wins against Pegula in the tournament final. But guess what? While Sabalenka may have grabbed the ultimate prize, Pegula took one of her precious possessions away after the match.
You might have seen Sabalenka sipping through her Marg-Aryna drink after her matches this entire week. The World No. 1 had the drink (made with Dobel Diamante Cristalino Tequila) on her desk again, during her post-match interview with the Tennis Channel. But she was left stunned after Pegula made a mischievous move in the middle of the interview. The US Open finalist literally took her formidable opponent’s drink away.
Sabalenka was reflecting on her performance in an interaction with WTA icon Martina Navratilova. As she kept talking, someone sneaked behind her and grabbed her Marg-Aryna. It was none other than Pegula. Navratilova and Sabalenka were both left speechless. But they couldn’t stop laughing as well.
Later, the Belarusian expressed her admiration for Pegula’s fun side in an IG story where she wrote, “This is why I love @jpegula ” To which, the American replied, “My win of the day ” in her own Instagram story. Well, that was perhaps Pegula’s revenge. Isn’t it a sweet revenge, though?
Prior to the Miami Open final, Sabalenka and Pegula locked horns in the finals twice last season. First, they met in the Cincinnati championship battle where Sabalenka emerged victorious with a score line of 6-3, 7-5. A few weeks later, at the US Open, the Belarusian defeated Pegula again in the final at Flushing Meadows. It was another straight-set victory by 7-5, 7-5.
In Miami, Aryna Sabalenka won the event without dropping a set. With her final triumph on Saturday, she’s now won 23 of her last 24 matches on American soil since last August. The match against Pegula was her fourth WTA final of 2025. She has clinched two titles already, including the Brisbane International and the Miami Open. On the other two occasions (Australian Open and Indian Wells), she failed to get past Madison Keys and the 17-year-old Russian prodigy Mirra Andreeva.
But what about Jessica Pegula? How’s she feeling after going through another final match disappointment against Sabalenka?
Jessica Pegula expresses her thoughts following Miami Open heartbreak against Aryna Sabalenka
Jessica Pegula’s 2025 season has been a mixed bag so far. Back in January, she made it to the final of the Adelaide International before losing to compatriot Madison Keys. However, she didn’t take long to clinch her first title of the season. At the ATX Open last month, she beat compatriot McCartney Kessler in the championship battle with a score line of 7-5, 6-2. Between these two tournaments, though, Pegula lost successively in the Round of 16 in Qatar and Dubai during the Middle East swing.
The American was, however, all smiles despite losing her third straight final to Sabalenka in Miami. During the post-match presentation ceremony, she playfully said, “Really don’t want to like you right now, but, you know, you’re the best player in the world for a reason. And, you know, you keep pushing everybody and challenging everybody to get better. And, just congrats! Two amazing couple of weeks here and, you know, a great tournament, Indian Wells, too, the last month. The tennis you’ve been able to play is amazing. So congrats.”
But the defeat must have hurt her, right? Well, Pegula took it with grace. It’s just part and parcel of the sport. Reflecting on her campaign, she said, “Thank you to my team over in the box, my family, my coach, my hitting partner, my physio, my trainer at home, my husband, my brother, and sister. I have a lot of friends and family here in South Florida, so it’s been awesome to play here and have everyone come watch me play. I really appreciate you guys getting me going the last couple of weeks. It was a long two weeks, but we had an amazing tournament, so hopefully we can keep that going.”
Pegula would now want to carry the momentum to the next event, which is the Charleston Open. In her past two appearances there (2023 and 2024), she made it to the semifinal round, and she would be keen to go a couple of steps further this time. Are you backing the World No.4 to bounce back in Charleston? Let us know in the comments below.
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