The 9 women to win multiple Miami Open titles: Serena Williams with 8
Nine women have won two or more Miami Open titles since the event was launched 40 years ago, with all those stars former world No 1’s and multiple-time Grand Slam champions.
We look at the most successful WTA players in tournament history – with Serena Williams a clear No 1.
=5) Ashleigh Barty – Two titles (2019, 2021)
The most recent woman to win multiple Miami Open titles is Barty, who claimed the title in 2019 and 2021.
Barty defeated Karolina Pliskova 7-6(1), 6-3 in the 2019 final and, with the tournament cancelled in 2020, successfully defended her title two years later after Bianca Andreescu retired injured at 6-3, 4-0 in the championship match.
=5) Kim Clijsters – Two titles (2005, 2010)
One of the leading hard-court players of her generation, former world No 1 Clijsters was also a two-time Miami Open champion.
Having already won Indian Wells, the Belgian completed the ‘Sunshine Double’ in 2005 with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Maria Sharapova, before defeating Venus Williams 6-2, 6-1 in the 2010 final.
=5) Martina Hingis – Two titles (1997, 2000)
Five-time Grand Slam champion Hingis also found success in Florida, triumphing twice at the tournament during the peak of her career.
The Swiss breezed past Monica Seles 6-2, 6-1 to triumph for the first time in 1997, and three years later claimed the title once again thanks to a 6-3, 6-2 win over key rival Lindsay Davenport.
=5) Arantxa Sanchez Vicario – Two titles (1992-93)
The only Spanish woman to ever lift the title, Sanchez Vicario is also one of a handful of women to successfully defend the title at the tournament.
She defeated Gabriela Sabatini 6-1, 6-4 to triumph in 1992, and twelve months later battled past long-term nemesis Steffi Graf 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to reign once again.
=5) Monica Seles – Two titles (1990-91)
Tennis icon Seles was the dominant force of the early 1990s, and unsurprisingly is a two-time champion at the prestigious event.
A 16-year-old Seles defeated Judith Wiesner 6-1, 6-2 to lift her first title in 1990, before successfully defending her title in 1991 with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Sabatini.
=3) Victoria Azarenka – Three titles (2009, 2011, 2016)
The Miami Open is the most successful event of Azarenka’s career, with the Belarusian a three-time champion at the tournament.
Azarenka defeated Serena Williams 6-3, 6-1 to claim the title for the first time in 2009, and then regained her title in 2011 by defeating Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4.
Five years later, the former world No 1 triumphed for the third time – and completed the ‘Sunshine Double’ – with a 6-3, 6-2 win against Svetlana Kuznetsova.
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=3) Venus Williams – Three titles (1998-99, 2001)
Competing at her home tournament, Venus found huge success in Miami with three women’s singles titles to her name.
She battled past Anna Kournikova 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 to prevail for the first time in 1998, and then successfully defended her title with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory over sister Serena in 1999.
Venus then regained her title in 2001 thanks to a battling 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) over compatriot Jennifer Capriati.
2) Steffi Graf – Five titles (1987-88, 1994-96)
An all-time great of the sport, Graf is the second-most successful Miami Open champion with an impressive haul of five titles to her name.
The German beat Chris Evert 6-1, 6-2 in the 1987 final – a rematch of the final from the previous year – and then successfully defended her title in 1988 with a 6-4, 6-4 win over the American.
Graf would later win three straight titles during the mid-1990s, starting with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Natasha Zvereva in 1994 – completing the ‘Sunshine Double’ in the process.
She then defeated Kimiko Date 6-1, 6-4 in 1995 before completing the ‘Sunshine Double’ for a second time with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Chanda Rubin.
1) Serena Williams – Eight titles (2002-04, 2007-08, 2013-15)
Comfortably out in front is Serena, who won a staggering eight titles at her home tournament – making it the most successful event of her glittering career.
The American defeated Capriati 7-5, 7-6(4) to lift the title for the first time in 2002 and then beat her compatriot 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the 2003 final, before cruising past Elena Dementieva 6-1, 6-1 in 2004.
Serena returned to the final in 2007 and saved two championship points to beat Justine Henin 0-6, 7-5, 6-3, before completing a successful title defence in 2009 with a 6-1, 5-7, 7-3 victory versus Jelena Jankovic.
She then completed a second three-peat of Miami titles over a decade from her first, starting with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 win against Sharapova in the 2013 final.
Serena then defeated Li Na 7-5, 6-1 in the 2014 final, before a 6-2, 6-0 win over Carla Suarez Navarro sealed an eighth and last title in 2015.
