
Aryna Sabalenka had her celebrations planned after winning the Indian Wells title.
Sabalenka saved a championship point to beat Elena Rybakina in the Indian Wells final, coming from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6).
This is the first time that Sabalenka has won Indian Wells in her career, having lost her two previous finals at the WTA 1000 tournament.
After winning her biggest title of the 2026 season so far, Sabalenka revealed how she plans to celebrate.
Sabalenka has now won five of the 10 WTA 1000 titles at least once, but she had to fly to her next tournament at the Miami Open in the same night after winning Indian Wells.
While she has her sights firmly set on the Miami Open now, Sabalenka did reveal that she plans to have a couple of drinks and a Five Guys meal.
“Well, I guess a couple espresso martinis, probably, and Five Guys to go,” Sabalenka said in her post-match press conference.
“Basically, that’s why I’m never in good shape, because it’s Five Guys and espresso martinis in celebration (laughing). Yeah, I guess that’s it. Maybe a couple drinks just to cheer ourselves.
“And that’s it, because the schedule is really tight and we’re on to the next one, and I cannot relax too much, because I’m defending champion there, and also, it’s Miami. I love being there, playing there, so I want to do well there, as well.
“So I will try to stay loose but focused. I guess it’s, again, going into the balancing everything, so I will try to balance it the best way possible.”
Sabalenka is the defending champion at the Miami Open, and will hope to go back-to-back this year.
Receiving a bye as the top seed, Sabalenka will play either Ann Li or a qualifier in her second round match.
The first seeded player Sabalenka could face is Xinyu Wang, with Madison Keys and Qinwen Zheng also in her quarter of the draw.
Sabalenka could also face a rematch with her biggest rival at the moment, Rybakina, but only if they both reach the semifinals in Miami.
| Miami Open 2026 | Aryna Sabalenka’s Potential Opponent |
| First Round | Receives a bye as the top seed |
| Second Round | Ann Li/Qualifier |
| Third Round | Xinyu Wang (29)/Caty McNally/Qualifier |
| Fourth Round | Madison Keys (15)/Qinwen Zheng (23)/Sloane Stephens/Jennifer Brady |
| Quarterfinal | Jasmine Paolini (7)/Elina Svitolina (9)/Liudmila Samsonova (19)/Jelena Ostapenko (25) |
| Semifinal | Elena Rybakina (3)/Jessica Pegula (5)/Ekaterina Alexandrova (11)/Naomi Osaka (16) |
| Final | Iga Swiatek (2)/Coco Gauff (4)/Amanda Anisimova (6)/Mirra Andreeva (8) |
Not only will Sabalenka be hoping to defend her title in Miami, she will also be bidding to make history.
Only four women have completed the sunshine double before, which occurs when a player wins both Indian Wells and the Miami Open back-to-back.
This list is comprised of Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters , Victoria Azarenka and Iga Swiatek, with Sabalenka looking to become the fifth.
The Miami Open main draw gets underway on Tuesday, March 17, but Sabalenka will not play her first match until at least Thursday.
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