Daniil Medvedev reflects on his video review for a hindrance call against Jack Draper. (1:52)
Winning the titles at Indian Wells and Miami -- known as the "Sunshine Double" and tennis' version of March Madness -- is an elusive feat, achieved by only a handful of some of the greatest in the game's history.
With the demands and intense competition of 1000-level events, and the quick turnaround between the contrasting conditions of the California desert and humid South Florida, it's incredibly tough to win one of the trophies, let alone both. Entering the 2026 editions of both tournaments, just four women and seven men had achieved the back-to-back victory in singles play -- happening in the same year on just three occasions -- and just five women's doubles teams had done so.
But somehow, despite everything mentioned above, the Sunshine Double was achieved not just once over the weekend, or even twice, but three times.
Yes, that's right. Aryna Sabalenka, Jannik Sinner and the doubles duo of Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova clinched the titles in Miami -- marking the first time in history that the trophies at both spring hard-court tournaments had been won by the same woman, man and women's doubles team.
It was also the first time since Victoria Azarenka and Novak Djokovic did so in 2016 that the women's and men's singles champions took home both titles in the same year. (Worth noting, that year saw the men's doubles team of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut also achieve the Sunshine Double and Bethanie Mattek-Sands win both tournaments with two different partners.)
Sabalenka, who was on a plane to Miami just hours after winning Indian Wells earlier this month celebrating as best she could with a "couple espresso martinis and Five Guys to go," became the first woman since Iga Swiatek in 2022 to hoist both trophies consecutively, and Sinner became the first man to do so since Roger Federer in 2017. Townsend and Siniakova are now the first women's doubles team to pull off the feat since Sabalenka and Elise Mertens in 2019.
So, safe to say, it was a very memorable four weeks during the American stretch of the spring season filled with incredible champions, matches and moments. If you have been preoccupied with the NCAA tournament (or just watching Braylon Mullins' unbelievable, game-winning 3 on a loop from every available angle) and have missed out on any of the action, here's everything you need to know before the season heads to the clay.
It has been an astounding year for Sabalenka, 27, on and off the court. She opened the season with the title at Brisbane, reached the final at the Australian Open (losing to Elena Rybakina, which remains her sole loss of 2026) and now has won Indian Wells and Miami. Not to mention, she got engaged to her longtime boyfriend, Georgios Frangulis, while in Indian Wells and adopted an adorable puppy named Ash.
And Sabalenka isn't just winning, she's dominating. During her run in both Indian Wells and Miami, she never dropped a set outside of the finals and held off a number of impressive opponents. Against a resurgent Rybakina, who has jumped up the rankings to No. 2, Sabalenka avenged her loss in Melbourne with a victory in both the Indian Wells final and a statement win in the Miami semifinals, 6-4, 6-3. She also staved off Coco Gauff, another of her fiercest rivals, in the Miami final in a tense three sets. It was Sabalenka's second straight title at Hard Rock Stadium and it improved her career head-to-head record over Gauff to 7-6.
Sabalenka now has a nearly 3,000-point gap between herself and everyone else in the latest rankings. She has held the top spot since October 2024 and is entering her 84th week in the position. She won the title last year in Madrid, but nowhere else on clay, and will now have a chance to earn even more points during the swing on the surface -- after, that is, she hopefully has a few days to celebrate her achievements with more than just a takeout fast-food order.
After Carlos Alcaraz won their last major showdown in the US Open final in September, and then went on to earn his seventh Slam title at the Australian Open in January, some wondered if he was distancing himself from Sinner for the title of best player currently on tour.
And as Sinner arrived in California having lost to Djokovic in the semifinals at the Australian Open, where he was the two-time defending champion, and having been handed a surprising loss in the quarterfinals in Qatar, momentum wasn't exactly on his side. But Sinner, 24, was more than ready for the challenge and quickly silenced any doubters.
The Italian stormed through both draws -- defeating Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells final and Jiri Lehecka for the Miami title -- and became the first player ever, man or woman, to win the Sunshine Double without losing a set. He was so dominant in his run that only one player (Joao Fonseca in the round of 16 at Indian Wells) got to set point against him. And, to perhaps further prove just how good Sinner is, in that match against Fonseca, he was facing triple set point -- and he still found a way to come back and take the set.
"That's a thing that I felt, intensity of the game," Fonseca said about Sinner after the match. "It's pretty [much in] all [of] the games, like, 100%, you need to be always ready, always focused."
Sinner, who was unable to play in either event in 2025 due to his three-month suspension, has now made up quite a bit of ground atop the rankings. Following his double victory, Sinner is now just 1,190 points behind Alcaraz. And, as Alcaraz has substantial points to defend during the clay-court events and Sinner didn't make his return in 2025 until the Italian Open in May, Sinner will have ample opportunity to close that gap even more in the coming weeks.
Gauff's sunshine swing got off to a tough start as she had to retire from her round-of-32 match at Indian Wells against Alexandra Eala due to an arm injury.
Stopping play when trailing 6-2, 2-0, Gauff later described the injury sustained in the first set as "scary," and she required a medical timeout for treatment.
"Never had anything like this before, never felt anything, a sensation like this before," Gauff said after the match. "And then as the match played [on], it got progressively worse, even when I wasn't using my arm on shots that I wasn't even using my left arm for."
She was unsure if she would even be able to play in Miami -- her hometown tournament -- and many on her team encouraged her to skip the event as a precaution. But after undergoing an MRI, Gauff decided to play and came to Miami with few expectations (but a lot of friends and family in the crowd). She ended up with her best-ever result at the event with a string of strong wins, including a 6-1, 6-1 rout of No. 13 seed Karolina Muchova in the semifinals. Gauff, 22, who has repeatedly called the Miami Open the most important tournament to her outside of the four Slams, reached her sixth 1000-level final and her ninth career final on hard court.
Though she ultimately lost to Sabalenka, Gauff said a "mindset shift" helped her appreciate what she had been able to do during the tournament. She credited Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu for helping her find new perspective.
"I had the mindset today that regardless of what happened, you lose, but there is no real loss in the situation," Gauff told reporters. "I was just looking at my box and seeing all my family and friends and hearing them in the crowd, and I know how much they supported me just to be on this stage, so I was just thinking more gratitude and things like that."
She added that reaching the final helped give her confidence going forward. And as the defending French Open champion, such a boost and momentum can come at no better time.
View this post on InstagramIndian Wells and Miami both hold a special place in Iga Swiatek's heart as she won the two consecutively in 2022 -- during her incredible 37-match win streak -- as she took over the world No. 1 for the first time. Swiatek became just the fourth woman in the special Sunshine Double club, joining Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters and Azarenka.
Since then, Swiatek, now a six-time major champion, claimed the title in Indian Wells again in 2024 and has won, well, a lot everywhere else.
But this season hasn't lived up to her own expectations. After helping lead Poland to the United Cup title in January, Swiatek hasn't advanced past the quarterfinals at any event. At Indian Wells, she lost to Elina Svitolina in the quarters and in Miami, she had her astounding 73-match win streak in opening-round matches snapped by compatriot Magda Linette. Swiatek couldn't hide her frustration after the loss.
"I feel like I carry a lot of expectations, and I can't really, like, fulfill them right now," Swiatek, 24, told reporters. "I need to get rid of them, because my game hasn't been good enough to have any expectations."
Four days later, she announced she had fired coach Wim Fissette, whom she had started working with in fall 2024 and had won the Wimbledon title with last summer. She said the rest of her team, which includes longtime sports psychologist and player box mainstay Daria Abramowicz, would remain unchanged.
"Miami was challenging for me. I feel disappointment, bitterness and responsibility for my performance on the court of course," Swiatek wrote on Instagram in a post announcing the decision. "I've also learned a lot of important lessons and I think that's very human. That being said, after many months of working together with my coach Wim Fissette, I've decided to take a different path."
Swiatek, now ranked No. 4, will shift her focus to finding a new coach and preparing for clay season. Though she had a shocking -- for her, anyway -- exit in the semifinals at the French Open last year, she's a four-time champion at the Slam and if anything could get her back on track, it has to be a return to her favorite surface.
There are many arguable takes in tennis. Saying Daniil Medvedev, the former world No. 1 and 2021 US Open champion, had a bad season in 2025 is not one of them.
He won just one major match last season and earned his lone title of the year at the 250-level at the Almaty Open in Kazakhstan in October. However, 2026 has seen a resurgence from Medvedev, who is now 30. He won the title at the season-opening tournament in Brisbane and followed it up with a fourth-round loss at the Australian Open and claiming the trophy at the 500-level Dubai Open.
However, after that victory, Medvedev, as well as other tennis players and staff, was then stuck in the United Arab Emirates for several days as the airspace was shut down following the United States' airstrikes on Iran. It wasn't initially clear whether he would make it to Indian Wells for the tournament, but he arrived right before it began -- and made it all the way to the final, including a win over Alcaraz in the semifinals. Though he was disappointed to not defeat Sinner for the title, the run propelled him back into the top 10.
"It's a good feeling, but I always said that when I play well, I will return to the top 10," Medvedev said. "I played well. ... Does it mean anything special to me? No. But it's a good feeling at the same time."
Though Medvedev's travel to Miami was considerably easier, he still arrived in Florida to discover his bags -- including his rackets and everything else he needed to play -- had not made it. He reached out to United Airlines over social media for assistance.
Hi @united...need a little help. Flew from PSP to Florida yesterday and none of my bags arrived. Kind of need them to play in the @MiamiOpen 😉....can you help?
He was ultimately reunited with his bags, but it wasn't enough. He lost in the round of 32 to Francisco Cerundolo, 6-0, 4-6, 7-5. Still, he remains in the top 10 -- and will look to continue his renaissance season as the tour heads to Europe.
After winning the Australian Open to become the youngest man in history to complete the career Grand Slam and having put even further distance between himself and Sinner atop the rankings, Carlos Alcaraz had clearly positioned himself as the man to beat on the ATP Tour.
Following yet another title at the Qatar Open and considering his status as a former champion at Indian Wells, Alcaraz was certainly the favorite to win both titles during the Sunshine Swing. However, he walked away empty-handed after a semifinal loss in the desert and a stunning exit in the round of 32 in Miami against Sebastian Korda. It marked his earliest defeat of the season.
However, Alcaraz -- who said Korda had been "incredible" and deserving of the victory -- can't actually win them all. Even if it sometimes feels like it. And the 22-year-old is already wallowing. He remains the world No. 1 -- although the gap certainly lessened -- and said he is looking forward to having a little break at home to spend with family and friends before turning his sights to the clay.
And, in great news for the Alcaraz family overall, younger brother Jaime won the Murica Under-15 Challenger title last weekend.
Watch out everyone 😳 Jaime Alcaraz won the Murcia U15 Challenger title in IMPRESSIVE fashion 😮💨 He reminds us of someone... pic.twitter.com/uxltAhmr7z
Though Sabalenka and Sinner, who combined boast eight major singles titles, were among the favorites to win at both events, there were still quite a few surprise victories and breakout stars over the past month.
Korda, the 25-year-old American, struggled with a series of setbacks in 2025 but now appears to be back to full health. Having won the title in Delray Beach in February, Korda lost to No. 6 seed Alex de Minaur in the round of 64 in Indian Wells but recorded the biggest win of his career, and first over a world No. 1, in the round of 32 in Miami over Alcaraz. Korda lost in the next round but he still reminded fans of his potential and ability that were on full display earlier in his career.
Sebi SPECIAL 🙌 The moment @SebiKorda defeated Carlos Alcaraz for his first ever win over a reigning No. 1!#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/iTBpMLBRw6
Victoria Mboko, who had a meteoric rise in 2025 and won the Canadian Open last summer, proved she's already among the best on the hard-court with back-to-back quarterfinal appearances in Indian Wells and Miami. With wins over top-10 players Amanda Anisimova and Mirra Andreeva during the stretch, the 19-year-old Canadian is now up to a career-high ranking of No. 9 and should be one to watch at every event she plays. Sabalenka, who defeated her at Indian Wells, called her "a future Grand Slam champion, for sure" after their match.
Victoria Mboko is #MiamiOpen Quarter-Final bound 🙌 She defeats Mirra Andreeva 7(7)-6(4), 4-6, 6-0 in the Round of 16! pic.twitter.com/QQFRzOPxOF
In 2025, Arthur Fils reached the first Masters 1000-level quarterfinal of his career at Indian Wells and then followed up the achievement by doing the same in Miami. And somehow the 21-year-old from France did even better this time around. He advanced to the quarters yet again in the desert and then to the semifinals in Miami behind some spectacular tennis. Facing Tommy Paul -- who had a considerable home-court advantage -- in the quarters at Hard Rock Stadium, Fils saved four match points in a deciding-set tiebreak to stun the American in a late-night thriller, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6), that might just be an early candidate for match of the year.
Arthur Fils is absolute BOX OFFICE 🍿 His reaction after after saving FOUR match points to defeat Tommy Paul under the lights 🗣️ #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/7O4DSjSdQ0
And Talia Gibson, a 21-year-old Australian, had perhaps the most Cinderella-esque run this month. Coming through qualifying at Indian Wells, she advanced all the way to the quarterfinals behind wins over No. 17 seed Clara Tauson and No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini. At Miami, she was again a qualifier, and recorded victories over four-time Slam champion Naomi Osaka and rising teen star Iva Jovic before falling in the fourth round. Prior to Indian Wells, she had never beaten anyone ranked inside the top 60. She now has five top-20 wins. With a goal of reaching the top 100 at the start of the season and ranked No. 112 at the start of the swing, Gibson is now a career-high No. 56 in the world.
And finally, Djokovic, who has achieved the Sunshine Double an astounding four times, didn't quite replicate his prior successes this year.
Playing in his first tournament since reaching the final at the Australian Open, the 38-year-old needed three sets in his first two matches at Indian Wells, before ultimately falling to No. 14 seed Jack Draper in the round of 16, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5). Djokovic, who said he had a "bitter feeling" after losing such a close match, still said he was proud of his fight.
"That's the one thing that I'll take as a highlight, you know, just the fact of not giving up and trying," Djokovic said. "I mean, obviously I lost to a great player, and it was really such an even match throughout the entire 2½ hours."
Djokovic then withdrew from Miami, citing a right shoulder injury, and he has since pulled out of next month's Monte Carlo Masters tournament.
It remains to be seen where Djokovic, the 24-time major champion, will play next but as he has been open about his desire to prioritize Slams at this stage in his career, it's likely he will do everything in power to be ready for the French Open.
