Miami (USA) – For the second year in a row, Elena Rybakina will compete in the WTA 1000 final in Miami and is looking for an unprecedented title in the competition. Number 4 in the world, the Kazakh beat former ranking leader and three-time tournament champion Victoria Azarenka 6/4, 0/6 and 7/6 (7-2) in 2h33 of the match this Thursday. Rybakina maintains her perfect record against the Belarusian, having won all four duels between them.
Winner of seven tournaments on the circuit, most notably Wimbledon in 2022, Rybakina has already won two tournaments this season. In 2024, she was champion of the WTA 500 in Brisbane and Abu Dhabi, in addition to being runner-up in the WTA 1000 in Doha. In 1000-level tournaments, she has two titles and two runner-up finishes. Last year, the Kazakh lost to Czech Petra Kvitova in the final in Miami. Whatever the result of the final, she will remain in fourth place in the rankings.
Rybakina’s opponent in the final scheduled for next Saturday will come from the match between Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova, 16th in the ranking, and North American Danielle Collins, 53rd, who will face each other at 9:30 pm (Brasília time) this Thursday. The Kazakh has won three of her four matches against Collins on the tour, one of them this year in Abu Dhabi. Against Alexandrova, she only has one victory in four matches, and lost this year in Adelaide.
Beaten in the semifinals this Thursday, Azarenka had her best campaign in Miami since 2018. The 34-year-old Belarusian and currently 32nd in the ranking was champion of the tournament in 2009, 2011 and 2016. With the points gained in recent weeks, she recovers positions and reaches 25th place. His most recent final in tournaments of this size was in 2021 in Indian Wells.
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In the opening game, Azarenka had to save four break-points. And she needed time to create her first chances on her opponent’s serve. Rybakina faced a 15-40 when she trailed 3/2, but broke free with a run of three aces. In the next game, the Kazakh managed the only break of the first set, after a moment of oscillation and double faults from Azarenka. The former world number 1 would still have one more break point in the set, when she trailed 4/3, but again Rybakina closed the door with an ace. More aggressive on the court, the Kazakh scored 21 to 9 on winners and made 14 errors compared to Azarenka’s 12.
The second set was largely dominated by Azarenka, who in addition to having applied a ‘tire’, gave up just five points throughout the entire period and went on to win 16 points in a row. With a very solid game from the back of the court, while the Kazakh accumulated unforced errors, the former leader of the ranking had the peace of mind to equalize the match. Azarenka scored 8-4 on winners and made just one unforced error compared to Rybakina’s 13.
Rybakina went to the locker room during the break between the last two sets. And on her return, she resumed her good performance on the first partial serve. The Kazakh had not been facing break-points and confirmed her services calmly. She took advantage of a very unstable game from Azarenka, who alternated between aces and double faults to create five break-points and get the break, leading 4/2.
When Rybakina served for the game and led 5/4, Azarenka gave nothing away. Patient in building the points and leading her opponent to make a mistake, she returned the break. The decision was made for the tiebreak of the third set. And right away, the Kazakh won a point on the return and hit two great serves to win 3/0. She also relied on a string of forehand errors from Azarenka to open up a large lead and lead 6-1. Facing five match points, the former number 1 escaped first on serve, but could not avoid defeat in three sets.
More aggressive throughout the match, Rybakina led the winners statistics by 40 to 28, and made 43 errors compared to Azarenka’s 29. The Kazakh fired 11 aces in the match, three more than her opponent. She made two breaks out of 11 break points and lost four service games. Azarenka scored the most points in the match, 95 to 88.
