Elena Rybakina will have an opportunity to complete the Sunshine Double on Saturday, which would be an absolutely historic achievement. Trying to stop her will be Petra Kvitova, who once had an 8-1 win/loss record in WTA 1000 finals, but has now lost her last three. Can the veteran Czech grab another big trophy? Or will it be one of the best players of the season so far in Rybakina claiming the title and her 15th win in a row?
WTA Miami Final Prediction
Elena Rybakina vs Petra Kvitova
Head-to-head: Rybakina 1-1 Kvitova
Only four women have won Indian Wells and Miami in one year before – Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka, Iga Swiatek. It’s wild that Rybakina can join this group as she was still so underrated before her Australian Open run (and that’s despite winning Wimbledon!). She absolutely deserves it though and arrives in this final on a 14-match win streak.
A former Wimbledon champion herself (2011, 2014), Kvitova was pretty quietly playing some great tennis this year before the Sunshine Double. There’s nothing quiet about her run anymore as she’s made the quarterfinals in Indian Wells and now gets a chance for her first WTA 1000 title in almost five years.
These two played twice pretty recently with a straight sets win each. Rybakina defeated Kvitova 7-6 6-4 in Ostrava last year, while the Czech exacted revenge 6-3 7-5 at the beginning of this year in Adelaide. Both matches were tight and a deciding set affair wouldn’t surprise anyone this time.
Does the accumulated fatigue from all her recent efforts become a factor for Rybakina? It could and she certainly hasn’t looked as clean in Miami as she was in Indian Wells. Getting a day off on Friday should help her though and she mostly struggled in her opening rounds. With Kvitova, a little question mark comes from the quality of the opposition she’s faced. Ekaterina Alexandrova and Donna Vekic are top 20 players, but they’re rather lower down that list and playing Rybakina will unquestionably be a step up.
Prediction: Rybakina in 3
Main photo credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
