Top four players to complete Sunshine Double in women's singles

Whoever wins both the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open in the same year is known as the Sunshine Double.

Tennis is one of the few sports that is greatly affected by the conditions and the surface it is played. Although the season begins on hard courts, it moves to clay courts during April–May and then to traditional grass courts before returning to hard surfaces. The Grand Slams are also scheduled in the same manner.

The Australian Open is hosted on Hard Courts, followed by the French Open on Clay and The Wimbledon on Grass, and finally into the Hard Courts of the US Open. Apart from these Grand Slams, there are multiple prestigious tournaments in which the players would want to excel. Two of them are the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open which is held back to back.

Both are being held in the extremely hot states of California and Florida and if an athlete can win both titles in the same year, it is known as the Sunshine Double. This year the No.6 ranked Mirra Andreeva was expected to achieve it in the Women’s Singles, but her 13-match winning streak was cut short by the impressive Amanda Anisimova.

She was in great form but still could not get the job done, which shows how difficult it was to win consecutive titles in those conditions. On that note let’s look at four players who have achieved the Sunshine Double in Women’s Singles.

Also Read: Players with most wins in WTA 1000 events

4. Iga Swiatek – 2022

Iga Swiatek had a dream run in 2022 as he kept filling her cabinet with trophies which included the Indian Wells and the Miami Open. She started slowly in the Indian Wells as she was pushed to three-setters in her first three rounds but come the Quarterfinals, she unleashed herself to power her way to the title beating Maria Sakkari in the finals.

The win made her the first Polish to lift the Indian Wells Open. She continued her domination in the Miami Open winning it without losing a set. Swiatek became the youngster player to complete the Sunshine Double and also the first-ever player to win the first three WTA 1000 titles of the year in succession. The journey was part of a stupendous 37-match winning streak.

3. Victoria Azarenka – 2016

Victoria Azarenka caught the attention of many tennis fans during her heyday. She has a knack for making things look easy and completing the Sunshine Double was one of them. Going into the 2016 season, she was determined to do well having suffered a lot in 2014 – 2015 due to a foot injury. She was not the favorite going into the Indian Wells against the top-seeded Serena Williams. But the Belarus girl made light work of Serena to beat her in straight sets.

The win was huge because Serena dominated her way into the finals without losing the set. With that momentum, Azarenka beat Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final of the Miami Open to complete the Sunshine Double. It was a special campaign for the two-timer Grand Slam winner as she got revenge against Germany’s Angelique Kerber, who cut short her Australian Open campaign in the Quarterfinals, having progressed to the last eight without losing a set.

Also Read: Top five players with most WTA 1000 title wins

2. Kim Clijsters – 2005

If someone wants inspiration from tennis, then it is hard to look beyond Kim Clijsters. Coming from a lesser-known country, She established Belgium as a powerhouse in the sport. She is known for pulling off some incredible wins out of nowhere and her Sunshine Double achievement is one of them. She was unseeded for the 2005 Indian Wells having missed playing Tennis for months due to injury.

This was his second tournament after comeback and he won the title easily. The cherry on the top of the cake was defeating the then World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport in the finals. It was not the end of all as the Belgian stamped her authority in the Miami Open defeating the World No. 2 Amelie Mauresmo and World No. 3 Maria Sharapova in the semis and finals respectively. It was one of the greatest comebacks as she straight away jumped from outside the Top 100 into the Top 20 in the rankings.

Also Read: Top five players with most matches played in WTA 1000 tournaments main draw

1. Steffi Graff – 1994 & 1996

Regarded as the greatest tennis player of the all-time Women’s Circuit, Steffi Graff has done everything one could ask for. She is the only Women’s player to complete the Sunshine Double twice. In her first achievement in 1994, She played some of the best tennis of her life. It was an impeccable display as he eased her way to both the titles.

To put her ease into perspective, In the finals of the Miami Open, She lost her first set of the year after an incredible 54 consecutive sets win. She achieved her second Sunshine Double in 1996. Surgery in late 1995 forced her to miss the Australian Open. She came back in March and won the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open as the top seed. If not for a right calf muscle strain in 1995 which made her miss the Indian Wells, she could have completed a hat-trick of Sunshine Double.

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