The 5 women with the most Miami Open final appearances: Serena Williams with 10, Maria Sharapova joint-third
Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula are set to face off in Saturday’s Miami Open women’s singles final – with a first title at the WTA 1000 event at stake for both women.
Ahead of a first Miami Open final for both women, we look back at the five WTA legends who have reached the most finals at the tournament.
5) Venus Williams – Four
Venus is one of the most successful players in Miami Open history, with three titles to her name – and four finals in total.
The American reached her first final in 1998, defeating Anna Kournikova 2-4, 6-4, 6-1, and then returned a year later, successfully defending her title with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 win over sister Serena.
After skipping the tournament in 2000, the former world No 1 returned to the final in 2001 and captured her third title with a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) victory against compatriot Jennifer Capriati.
Venus made a fourth final almost a decade later, though she was beaten 6-2, 6-1 by Kim Clijsters in 2010.
=3) Maria Sharapova – Five
Former world No 1 Sharapova’s record of five Miami Open finals is only beaten by two women, but – believe it or not – the Russian was never able to lift the title in Florida.
Sharapova was beaten 6-3, 7-5 by Clijsters in her first final in 2005, and the following year tasted a 6-4, 6-3 defeat to compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova.
She then fell to Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-4 in the 2011 final, before a 7-5, 6-4 loss to Agnieszka Radwanska in 2012, and a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 defeat to Serena Williams in 2013.
Having won all four Grand Slam titles and the WTA Finals, the Miami Open is one of the biggest titles Sharapova never won.
=3) Chris Evert – Five
Much like Sharapova, tennis legend Evert reached five finals and had an overall losing record in them, though she was able to lift the title once.
After falling 6-2, 6-4 to Martina Navratilova in the inaugural 1985 final, Evert defeated Steffi Graf 6-4, 6-2 to capture the title in her home state the following year.
However, the American was beaten by Graf in both the 1987 and 1988 finals, losing 6-1, 6-2 and 6-4, 6-4 respectively to her fellow tennis great.
Evert reached a fifth straight final in 1989, though she lost 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 to Gabriela Sabatini.
2) Steffi Graf – Seven
One of the most successful tennis players of all time, 22-time Grand Slam champion Graf was a five-time Miami Open champion, and also reached a further two finals.
A 16-year-old Graf was beaten by Evert in her first final in 1986, though she bounced back to beat the American in back-to-back finals in 1987 and 1988.
The German returned to the final in 1993 and was beaten 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 by Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, though she regained her crown with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Natasha Zverev in the 1994 final.
Graf would ultimately win the title in three straight seasons, beating Kimiko Date 6-1, 6-4 in the 1995 final and Chanda Rubin 6-1, 6-3 in 1996.
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1) Serena Williams – 10
Serena holds a record of eight women’s singles titles at the tournament, and reached a staggering 10 finals overall.
The American was beaten by her older sister Venus in her first final in 1999, though she then beat Capriati 7-6, 7-6(4) in the 2002 final, and 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in 2003 to successfully defend her crown.
Serena completed a Miami ‘three-peat’ in 2004 with a 6-1, 6-1 thrashing of Elena Dementieva, and regained her crown in 2007 by saving championship points in a 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Justine Henin.
The American then successfully defended her title by beating Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 in the 2008 final, though she lost 6-3, 6-1 to Azarenka in 2009.
The former world No 1 returned to the final in 2013 and triumphed thanks to a three-set win over Sharapova, before defeating Li Na 7-5, 6-1 in 2014.
Her tenth and last final came in 2015, beating Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-0 for an eighth title.
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