Aryna Sabalenka is expecting an emotional battle in the Miami Open final as the world number one renews her rivalry with Coco Gauff.

Florida native Gauff will have the home support on her side as she bids for her first title of 2026 on Saturday, having reached the final at the WTA 1000 event for the first time.

Sabalenka, meanwhile, is the defending champion in Miami and is also eyeing the Sunshine Double following her triumph at the Indian Wells Open earlier this month, which was part of a spectacular start to this year.

The two WTA stars have met previously on 12 occasions, with the head-to-head intriguingly split at six wins each going into their showpiece clash.

Three of those meetings came last year, with Sabalenka winning two of them, but it was Gauff who prevailed when the stakes were highest, coming from behind to win in the French Open final.

"A lot of rallies, a lot of emotions, a lot of aggression, a lot of fun," Sabalenka said when asked about what she expects against Gauff.

"It is going to be a battle. I am super excited to play her in another final."

Sabalenka has not dropped a set in any of her five victories so far in this tournament, including impressively dispatching great rival and Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina 6-4 6-3 in their semi-final meeting.

Gauff, meanwhile, has had to fight much harder to progress.

She needed a deciding set to prevail in each of her first four matches but did then produce her most convincing performance of the tournament so far in thrashing Karolina Muchova 6-1 6-1 in the last four.

1 - Coco Gauff is the youngest American to reach the final at Miami Open since Serena Williams in 2003. Leap. #MiamiOpen | @MiamiOpen @WTA pic.twitter.com/SOhObxr89F

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) March 26, 2026

Despite some up-and-down performances, the 22-year-old feels her game is heading in the right direction.

Asked about her start to 2026, Gauff said: "I had some tough matches this year, but it is better than last year.

"It just comes with growing my game and trying to make my game more sound. I think I feel the improvements are happening, especially with my forehand. I was happy with how it has been this whole tournament.

"I said earlier that I've been practising well, and I've just been waiting for it to click. 

"It has obviously not fully clicked, but I think it is clicking."

Gauff typically performs well in finals, with an impressive 11-3 record in showpiece matches on the WTA Tour, including victory in her last such appearance in Wuhan towards the end of 2025.

She is the youngest American to reach the final at the Miami Open since Serena Williams in 2003, and she will be hoping to join the eight-time champion by lifting the title.

It will be Gauff's sixth career final at WTA 1000 level. She is the third-youngest player since the format's introduction in 2009 to achieve that feat, older only than Caroline Wozniacki and Iga Swiatek.

As for Sabalenka, she will be looking to claim back-to-back Miami Open titles, with the Indian Wells champion also having the chance to become the first player to complete the Sunshine Double since Swiatek did so in 2022.

She is only the second player to reach both finals at the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and Miami) in consecutive years since both tournaments were calendarised in 1989, with the only other to have done that being Maria Sharapova (2012-2013).

4/4 - Aryna Sabalenka is the fourth player to reach the final at her first four WTA-level events of a season after Martina Hingis (2001), Serena Williams (2003) and Victoria Azarenka (2012) this Century. Unremitting.#MiamiOpen | @MiamiOpen @WTA pic.twitter.com/4TbV2xiQMX

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) March 27, 2026

Sabalenka has reached the final in her first four WTA Tour events this season and is the first player to achieve that feat since Victoria Azarenka in 2012.

She won a WTA 500 title in Brisbane in January before narrowly losing out to Rybakina in a thrilling Australian Open final.

But Sabalenka gained a measure of revenge on the Kazakh with a dramatic final success at Indian Wells and, having beaten Rybakina again in the last four in Miami, now carries huge momentum into what looks likely to be a compelling match with another familiar rival in home hope Gauff.