Comments about two champions and two strivers at the Sunshine Double

Aryna Sabalenka — Her current playing level is extremely high, as she showed when she became the fifth woman to capture the Sunshine Double. Aryna partly credits Ash, her cute and cuddly King Charles spaniel dog. “Ash has helped me with mental health control,” she says. Aryna has won all four of her Grand Slam titles on hard courts, but her complete game can also win now on French Open clay and Wimbledon grass.

In her current rivalry with No. 2-ranked Elena Rybakina, a terrific power hitter, Sabalenka has an edge in two important areas: volleying and court coverage. If we had a time machine, I’d like to see how 2026 Aryna would do against the 2006 Serena.

 

Frances Tiafoe — When the energetic, muscular-flexing American reached the 2019 Australian Open quarterfinals at age 21, the former world No. 2 junior had high hopes he’d become a regular contender for major titles, if not become a champion. It never happened, though he briefly ranked No. 10 and reached two US Open semifinals. Disappointed in his 2025 season that ended with a No. 30 ranking, he changed his entire team and dropped 25 pounds. “I really believe in this new Frances,” said Tennis Channel analyst Chris Eubanks. He reads 10 pages every day and drinks a gallon of water a day—no music. He’s really disciplined.” All these changes sound wonderful, and I wish Frances the best, but why was Frances 25 pounds above his fighting weight in the first place?

 

Talia Gibson — As a skinny, smiling, 10-year-old Aussie from Perth, Talia flipped the coin for the 2015 Australian Open match between Venus Williams and Madison Keys. Eleven years later, Gibson plays much more like these power hitters than compatriot and three-time major winner Ash Barty, whom she says inspired her. Ranked only No. 112 going into the Sunshine Double, the 5’9” righty qualifier used her explosive groundstrokes to stun No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova, No. 17 Clara Tauson, and No. 7 Jasmine Paolini to make the Indian Wells quarterfinals. This breakthrough was no fluke. At the Miami Open, Gibson qualified again and upset No. 41 Sarah Bejlek, four-time major champ Naomi Osaka, and No. 17 Iva Jovic, all in straight sets. Talia has the weapons to crack the top 20, but mediocre foot speed could prevent her from making the top 10.

 

Jannik Sinner — One of several reasons No. 2 Jannik Sinner was heavily favored over No. 21 Jiri Lehecka in the Miami Open final was his 15-5 record in finals, the only losses coming against No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.

     Another reason was that his excellent serve became even better during the Sunshine Double. Going into the final, Jannik held serve 49 of 50 times. Against Lehecka, it was superb when Jannik needed it most. Leading 3-1 in the opening set, but down love-40, he calmly whacked two aces and three service winners to hold serve. Another key to Sinner’s 6-4, 6-4 victory was his superior spin rate. In the first set, Sinner’s forehand was 3,308 rpm compared to 2,805 for Lehecka. Even more pronounced was his backhand spin rate advantage, 2,119 rpm compared to only 1,471 for Lehecka. As former No. 1 Jim Courier noted, “Sinner’s backhand is a bigger weapon because he has more topspin on it.” Put differently, you can hit the ball harder with greater consistency IF your groundstrokes have more spin.

     The takeaway for ATP players trying to dethrone the Sincaraz duopoly is to play more like them—if you can. Alcaraz and Sinner have captured the last nine Grand Slam singles titles. Just as daunting for the rest of the Tour, they’ve won the last 18 tournaments they’ve both played.