World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka remains on course for a blockbuster showdown with Iga Swiatek, improving to 21-4 for the season with a hard-fought 6-2, 7-5 win over Qinwen Zheng (who is fast becoming Sabalenka’s own personal bunny).
2025 WTA Tour
WTA 1000
Miami Open
Miami Gardens, Miami, Florida (Outdoor Hardcourts)
Selected Quarterfinals and Semifinals- 27th March
Semifinal
Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs Jasmine Paolini (6)
World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka remains on course for a blockbuster showdown with Iga Swiatek, improving to 21-4 for the season with a hard-fought 6-2, 7-5 win over Qinwen Zheng (who is fast becoming Sabalenka’s own personal bunny). It was a strange, erratic match, with both players appearing tense after rainy conditions caused the entire schedule to be delayed by two hours. The match was littered with unforced errors and breaks of serve (eleven in total). The Belarusian just seemed to struggle a little bit less than the Chinese star, eventually securing her maiden Miami Open semifinal berth. Sabalenka will probably feel encouraged by her ability to ‘win ugly’ against Zheng (cause we all know that’s she’s virtually unbeatable on hardcourts when operating at her peak).
Two-time Grand Slam runner-up Jasmie Paolini was back to her resplendent best in her quarterfinal clash with Magda Linette, advancing to a 2nd career WTA 1000 semifinal after a comprehensive 6-3, 6-2 victory. The 2024 Dubai champ was in complete control against Linette, taking the ball early and dictating the tempo of the match with her deceptively powerful forehand (I’m still not sure how she generates so much power with that diminutive frame). The 2024 breakout star came into this event in middling form, eliminated in the round of 16 in each of the first three WTA 1000 events of the season. In fact, she hadn’t won three consecutive matches coming into this year’s Miami Open. But she now owns a little slice of history, becoming the first Italian woman in history to reach the final four in Miami. She now has the unenviable task of trying to withstand the Sabalenka juggernaut. Regardless of what happens in the semis, Paolini will be galvanized by this showing and will go into the clay-court season with some real momentum behind her.
The Verdict: Sabalenka to win in straight sets at – Sabalenka leads a tight head-to-head 3-2. Sabalenka won their most recent meeting, triumphing in straight sets at the WTA Finals. Paolini’s only hardcourt win over Sabalenka came on the ultra-slow hardcourts at Indian Wells. I think that Sabalenka is going to roll through Paolini. She looked undercooked against Zheng, and I expect her to significantly raise her level in this clash.
