Aryna Sabalenka defeated Coco Gauff 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 Sunday to win her second straight Miami Open title and complete a “Sunshine Double” sweep of Indian Wells Open and Miami.

The world No. 1 from Belarus, fresh off her first triumph in the California desert, became the fifth woman – and the first since Iga Swiatek in 2022 – to win both of the elite early season hardcourt WTA 1000 titles.

“It means a lot,” Sabalenka said after joining Poland’s Swiatek, German great Steffi Graf, Belgian Kim Clijsters and fellow Belarusian Victoria Azarenka on the list of women to win both titles in the same year.

“My goal always been to put my name in the history, and I just did it,” she added.

Sabalenka underscored her WTA dominance in a season in which her only defeat to date was her Australian Open finals loss to Elena Rybakina – who she went on to beat in the Indian Wells title match and in the semifinals here.

She handed Gauff her first career defeat in a hardcourt final.

The American had won her first nine, including a triumph over Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open championship match.

Gauff had also beaten the Belarusian for the title on the red clay of Roland Garros last year.

So Sabalenka said she wasn’t surprised to see Gauff dig in, even after the Belarusian pocketed the first set with a ruthless display of power and precision.

She broke Gauff to open the match and, after Gauff saved three break points in a gritty fifth game, broke the American again in the seventh before serving it out in 37 minutes without facing a break point herself.

In a tense second set, Gauff’s first break point chance – from a blistering backhand passing winner in the second game – sparked a jubilant reaction from the crowd at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins that is just about an hour away from Gauff’s Delray Beach home.

But Gauff couldn’t convert, slamming a forehand into the net on the next point as Sabalenka held.

It needed another gutsy hold from Gauff to keep it on serve in the fifth game.

Up 40-0, she wasted three game points with a pair of errors off the ground and a double fault then had to save a break point before taking the game.

But Gauff was finding more depth on her returns and broke Sabalenka for the first time to take the second set.

“I knew that she’s going to try her very best to fight in this match,” Sabalenka said.

“I was just trying to keep a positive mindset going into the third set. I’m super happy how well I handled my emotions how well I stayed focused from the very beginning to the very end.”

‘What a month’

And the third set, again, was virtually all Sabalenka.

She broke to open the final frame and broke again when Gauff sailed a backhand long on Sabalenka’s first match point.

“What a month,” said Sabalenka, who along with two prestigious titles acquired a new puppy and got engaged to boyfriend Georgios Frangulis.

Gauff was also feeling grateful after a rocky March that saw her withdraw from her third-round match at Indian Wells with a nerve issue that caused “scary” pain in her left arm.

She had said after a dominant semifinal win over Karolina Muchova that she was making progress with the inconsistencies in her serve and forehand, although seven double faults hurt her cause against Sabalenka.

And after considering skipping the event, the 22-year-old was thrilled to reach the final for the first time.

“I feel like I’m nowhere near my peak of my tennis, so I think it gives me comfort a little bit playing these tournaments and having great results,” she said.

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Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli capitalized on a timely safety car to win Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, securing his second straight victory and becoming Formula One’s youngest-ever championship leader at age 19.

The Italian, who started from pole but ⁠dropped to sixth after a tardy start, crossed the line 13.7 seconds clear of Australian Oscar Piastri, who handed reigning champions McLaren their first podium of the season. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was ​third.

Antonelli’s win, his second from the opening three races, gives him a nine-point ​lead ⁠in the overall standings over teammate George Russell.

The Briton, who had held a four-point advantage going into Sunday’s race, finished a distant fourth.

“Of course, it’s too early to think about the championship,” said Antonelli who also became the first Italian to win two Formula One races in a row since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

“But we’re on the good way,” he added, acknowledging the lucky timing of the safety car but also pointing to his speed in the second half of the race.

Slow start

Antonelli made a tire-smoking getaway that left him a sitting duck and allowed his rivals to stream past.

Piastri, starting third, led into the first corner from Leclerc, reigning world champion Lando Norris, Russell and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

It wasn’t until lap 21 that ⁠Antonelli ⁠found himself back in the lead, inherited after his rivals, including teammate George Russell, pitted for fresh rubber.

A heavy crash a lap later for Haas racer Oliver Bearman triggered a safety car and turned the race in Antonelli’s favor.

That gave the Italian the opportunity to make his stop while his rivals were running at reduced speed and keep the lead, leaving Russell, who had stopped just a lap earlier and had been leading from Antonelli, cursing his luck.

Bearman given all clear

Briton Bearman was given the all-clear by doctors after limping away from the high-speed 50G crash.

Replays showed him having to take avoiding action as he rapidly ⁠closed in on Franco Colapinto’s Alpine, with a significant speed differential between the two cars.

That sent Bearman onto the grass and into a heavy collision with the barriers.

The 20-year-old was given an X-ray at the circuit’s medical center, which revealed a right knee ​contusion but no fractures, a Haas spokesperson said.

Piastri redemption

Piastri’s podium helped McLaren bounce back from a dismal Chinese ​Grand Prix at which neither of their two cars was able to make the start in Sunday’s race.

It was also redemption for Piastri, who until Sunday had only turned racing laps in China’s ⁠Saturday sprint, ‌having crashed out ‌ahead of his home race in Australia.

“Yeah, we do alright when we ⁠get to start!” joked the 24-year-old.

Norris was fifth in the ‌other McLaren ahead of Hamilton and the Briton, like Antonelli, benefited by pitting under the safety car to move up to third.

But despite ​another Sunday afternoon of wheel-to-wheel battling, he ⁠was unable to hang on to the podium spot.

Pierre Gasly was seventh for ⁠Alpine.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who said he was “beyond frustration” after a poor qualifying Saturday, salvaged some ⁠points in eighth.

Liam Lawson was ​ninth for Racing Bulls, with Esteban Ocon 10th in his Haas.

Fernando Alonso handed Aston Martin their first finish of the year at power unit partner Honda’s home race. The Spaniard was 18th.

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UEFA fined Portuguese club Benfica 40,000 euros ($46,000) and placed the club on a one-year probation after supporters engaged in racist chants and gestures directed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the first leg of their Champions League knockout tie on Feb. 17.

The match, won 1-0 by Madrid, was overshadowed by allegations of racial abuse, raising fresh questions about fan behavior and on-field accountability in European football.

Benfica risks partial stadium closure in future European matches if similar incidents occur during the probation period.

The sanctions address “illicit chants and gestures by two supporters,” UEFA said, and are separate from the ongoing investigation into allegations that Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni racially abused Vinicius during the match. In the 50th minute, after scoring the game’s only goal, Vinicius approached referee François Letexier claiming Prestianni called him a “monkey.”

UEFA’s anti-racism protocol was immediately invoked, halting play for nearly 10 minutes as players and officials dealt with the tense situation.

Television footage showed Prestianni lifting his jersey over his mouth while speaking to Vinicius, which the Brazilian interpreted as an attempt to conceal the insult.

Prestianni has consistently denied the allegation and faces a potential 10-match UEFA ban if found guilty, while he was suspended from the second leg in Madrid pending the investigation.

Benfica acted internally, suspending five supporters identified as having engaged in racist behavior.

UEFA also fined the club 25,000 euros for objects thrown onto the pitch, 8,000 euros for laser pointer use, and suspended assistant coach Pedro Machado for one match for unsporting conduct.

The incident highlights an ongoing issue for Vinicius, who has been targeted by racist abuse multiple times in European football.

Brazil’s football confederation (CBF) called for exemplary sanctions, while Real Madrid submitted full match footage to UEFA to support the case.

On the field, tensions flared: benches exchanged heated words, and Benfica coach Jose Mourinho was briefly sent off.

The second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu ended 2-1 in Madrid’s favor, sending the Spanish club through to the Champions League round of 16.

But the wider story centered on racism and fan misconduct, not the scoreline.

UEFA’s disciplinary measures signal the governing body’s commitment to zero tolerance, though the final verdict on Prestianni will.

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Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti dismissed calls from fans for Neymar, who was omitted from the squad, following their 2-1 warm-up loss to France in Boston on Thursday, emphasizing that attention should stay on the players selected.

Neymar was left out after missing a recent Santos FC match due to muscle fatigue, a game Ancelotti had intended to watch in person as part of his evaluation before finalizing the squad.

“Right now we have to talk about those who are here, who played, who gave everything, who showed character, who worked very hard. And I am satisfied,” Ancelotti told reporters.

“I think Raphinha played very well. He had some muscle discomfort at the end of the first half and we had to substitute him, but he had many opportunities and very good movement off the ball.

“And Vini (Vinicius Jr.) always tries; he always makes the difference. A striker cannot always score, but the work done by both of them was good.”

Neymar, Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 79 goals, has not played for the national team since suffering a serious knee injury in October 2023 and has struggled to maintain a consistent run of matches since returning to Santos last year.

Ancelotti has repeatedly said the forward will be considered if he is fully fit. Despite the defeat and Neymar’s absence, the Italian said the performance reinforced his belief in the squad’s potential.

“I think today’s game makes it very clear to me that we can compete with the best teams in the world. I have no doubt about that,” Ancelotti said.

Brazil will next face Croatia on March 31 in Orlando ahead of the June 11-July 19 World Cup in North America.

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The Japanese Grand Prix may be just the third race of the Formula One season, but it marks the start of a five-week hiatus after Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were canceled because of the war in Iran. The next race is scheduled for May 3 in Miami.

So far, Australia and China have shown Mercedes and Ferrari leading the pack, having adapted best to F1’s most radical changes in power units and chassis in more than a decade.

George Russell and Kimi Raikkönen have each claimed a win, while Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc have swapped third and fourth places. Both teams are favorites on Suzuka’s legendary figure-eight layout, a narrow, twisting circuit in central Japan with only one major straight for overtaking.

Unlike the modern, wide tracks of Shanghai or Melbourne, Suzuka is classic F1: technical, demanding, and steeped in history.

Hamilton has won the Japanese Grand Prix five times, four of them at Suzuka, as he surges back near the top of the standings after two races.

McLaren has struggled after winning last season’s drivers’ championship with Lando Norris and the constructors’ title. The team failed to start the race in China two weeks ago because of engine and electrical problems.

Asked Thursday if the problems had been resolved, Norris said: “I think it took a little bit of time to figure things out, but yes. Of course it hurt us as a team, certainly didn’t make us look good to have two cars not starting a race.”

Norris praised the team, which includes Oscar Piastri. McLaren had the best car on the grid the last two seasons, winning the constructors’ title both years.

“Now is just as good a time as ever to prove exactly what we can do as a team, against Ferrari, against Mercedes, who are performing very well at the minute,” Norris said.

Red Bull and four-time champion Max Verstappen, who retired in China, have also faced challenges. Verstappen has been vocal about this season’s radical F1 makeover, calling it “yo-yo racing” as top drivers surge to the front and quickly fall back.

Looking ahead to the five-week break, Verstappen said, “We just need to keep working, keep trying to put more performance on the car. Maybe the little break we have now is a good time to look back and analyze even more things. Basically, try to be better in Miami.”

Verstappen also kicked a journalist out of a Thursday interview, upset over coverage of his failed bid for a fifth consecutive drivers’ title last season.

Honda, which had enjoyed great success as Red Bull’s engine supplier, is off to a difficult start this season supplying Aston Martin after Red Bull switched to Ford power. The Japanese manufacturer’s power unit has caused severe vibrations, preventing both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll from completing the first two races.

Honda operates Suzuka, and it is not the kind of publicity the company wants at its home race. Simply finishing with both cars would be considered a victory.

Russell and Raikkönen were fastest Friday in the first practice for Sunday’s race. Russell’s session-leading time was 1 minute, 31.666 seconds.

Another practice session is scheduled for later Friday, with a third session Saturday before qualifying.

The McLaren pair of Norris and Piastri followed the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers in the timesheets. The top six practice times were separated by just 0.374 seconds.

Alonso missed the early session. Spanish reports said he was late arriving in Japan because his partner, Melissa Jimenez, gave birth to the couple’s first child. The team said only Alonso was delayed for personal reasons.

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Rodri has left the door wide open to a potential move to Real Madrid, admitting a return to Spain appeals as he weighs his future at Manchester City following years at the Premier League’s relentless peak.

The Spain international has been the defining presence at the base of City’s midfield under Pep Guardiola, orchestrating play with precision while anchoring one of Europe’s most dominant sides.

His influence reached its pinnacle with the 2024 Ballon d’Or, a recognition that elevated him beyond system player status into global elite territory.

But after seven seasons in England, the toll is beginning to surface.

Rodri spoke candidly about the Premier League’s intensity, describing it as both thrilling and unforgiving, a competition that demands constant physical and mental output. That reality, combined with his recent injury struggles, has prompted a period of reflection.

“I’d like to return, yes, obviously,” he said, acknowledging the pull of La Liga, where he first developed his game.

The timing of those remarks is significant. Rodri will enter the final year of his contract at the end of the season, placing him in a position of leverage.

City are pushing to secure his long-term future, fully aware that his role is central to Guardiola’s structure. Yet the absence of a new agreement leaves the situation open, and increasingly, external interest is gaining relevance.

His recent injury history adds further context.

A serious cruciate ligament injury sidelined him for an extended period, disrupting both his rhythm and City’s balance.

He later admitted the break exposed mental fatigue built up over years of relentless competition, but also offered a reset.

Rodri described returning with renewed energy and enthusiasm, a claim already backed by his performances.

His commanding display in City’s 2-0 Carabao Cup final win over Arsenal underlined his enduring quality, restoring the control and composure that define his game.

His immediate focus remains on regaining peak condition ahead of the 2026 World Cup, a tournament he views as pivotal. But beyond that horizon, his openness toward Madrid has sharpened attention.

Despite his past ties to Atletico Madrid, Rodri dismissed any emotional barrier to joining their city rivals, pointing instead to football’s evolving landscape where such moves are no longer unthinkable.

“You can’t turn down the best clubs in the world,” he said, referencing Madrid’s stature and the aura of the Santiago Bernabeu.

Inside the Spanish club, admiration for Rodri is well documented.

According to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, he is highly regarded within Madrid’s hierarchy, particularly for his ability to dictate high-pressure matches. However, any concrete move depends first on the player’s own decision.

That decision will extend beyond football. Family considerations, lifestyle and long-term ambitions are all expected to shape his thinking, making this a deeply personal crossroads rather than a purely professional negotiation.

For Manchester City, the implications are profound. Rodri is not easily replaced, his positional intelligence and control forming the backbone of Guardiola’s system. His absence has already shown how vulnerable City can become without him.

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