MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff are back on a big stage in the final of the Miami Open as their growing rivalry heats up.
Gauff, the South Floridian who beat Sabalenka in the 2023 U.S. Open and 2025 French Open finals, will meet the top-seeded Belarusian at Hard Rock Stadium at 3 p.m. EDT.
This WTA 1000 final will mark their 13th meeting, with the series knotted at 6-6. They faced off three times in finals in 2025. Sabalenka won the last meeting in the group stage of the WTA Finals in November.
“We’ve played so many matches, and it’s physical when I play her every time," Gauff said. “She’s playing great tennis. She’s definitely world No. 1 for a reason and it’s going to be a great challenge."
Gauff is making her first Miami Open final appearance. The Delray Beach, Florida product had never made it past the fourth round in her hometown tournament.
“She’s a fighter,’’ Sabalenka said. “She’s a great player. We played a lot of tight matches, a lot of big finals. She is an incredible player. I’m really excited to face her in the final. I think it’s going to be a great battle. I cannot wait to play that."
Sabalenka is attempting to win the “Sunshine Double” — the back-to-back March hard-court tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami.
Sabalenka won in California on March 15 with a three-set victory over Elena Rybakina. Gauff had to retire during her third-round match against Alexandra Eala in Indian Wells because of a nerve injury in her left forearm. Gauff said her team wanted to skip the Miami Open but she insisted.
"With Coco, you know that you have to play an extra ball, and the ball always comes back, sometimes not perfect, but it’s always back on your side," Sabalenka said. “She pushes you into the long rallies and I think that’s what makes her difficult.”
Sabalenka’s new residence is Miami and she has a strong Brazilian following because of her Brazilian fiance, Georgios Frangules.
“I’m super curious how the stadium is going to be on Saturday,’’ Sabalenka said. “It couldn’t be a better final. I feel happy for her that she’s finding her tennis back."
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Aryna Sabalenka reacts after winning the first set against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan during a semifinal match at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Coco Gauff celebrates a point against Karolina Muchova, of the Czech Republic, in the semifinals of the Miami Open tennis tournament, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Jim Rassol)
Aryna Sabalenka serves to Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan during a semifinal match at the Miami Open tennis tournament, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
MONACO (AP) — Pope Leo XIV urged residents of the cosmopolitan Mediterranean principality of Monaco on Saturday to use their wealth, influence and Catholic faith for good, especially to uphold Catholic teaching on protecting the sanctity of life.
Leo made a one-day trip to the glitzy enclave, becoming the first pope to visit since Pope Paul III came in 1538. As a cannon boomed, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene met Leo at the Monaco heliport, just down the coast from the marina that is home to the megayachts of the rich and famous.
At the palace, members of the royal family stood in the courtyard waiting for Leo, the women dressed in black and with lace head coverings. Charlene wore white — a protocol privilege granted by the Vatican to Catholic royal sovereigns when meeting popes, known in diplomatic terms as "le privilège du blanc."
In his opening greeting from the palace balcony, Leo urged Monaco to use its wealth, influence and “gift of smallness” for good.
It was important, he said, “especially at a historical moment when the display of power and the logic of oppression are harming the world and jeopardizing peace.”
Speaking in French, Leo urged Monaco’s people to use their faith and be “always ready to protect every human life with love, at any time and in any condition, so that no one is ever excluded from the table of fraternity.”
Monaco is one of the few European countries where Catholicism is the official state religion. And Prince Albert recently refused a proposal to legalize abortion, citing the important role Catholicism plays in Monaco society.
The decision was largely symbolic, since abortion is a constitutional right in France, which surrounds the coastal principality of 2.2 square kilometers (about 1 square mile).
But in refusing to allow it in Monaco, Albert joined other European Catholic royals who have taken a similar stand over the years to uphold Catholic doctrine on an increasingly secular continent. When Pope Francis visited Belgium in 2024, he announced he was putting the late King Baudouin on the path to possible sainthood because he abdicated for a day in 1990 rather than approve legislation to legalize abortion.
A coastal playground for the rich and famous, Monaco is renowned as much for its tax-friendly incentives and Formula 1 Grand Prix as its glamorous royal family. The son of the late American actress Grace Kelly, Albert spoke in perfect, unaccented English when he greeted Leo at the heliport. Leo was heard noting that he landed three minutes late.
Leo's one-day visit includes a meeting with Monaco’s Catholic community in the cathedral and Mass in the sports stadium.
Monaco’s population of 38,000 is heavily Catholic and also multinational, with only a fifth of the population actually citizens of the principality.
Winfield reported from Rome.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Pope Leo XIV and Prince Albert II of Monaco meet at the Prince's Palace during Leo XIV's one-day pastoral visit to the Principality of Monaco, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool Photo via AP)
Princess Charlene of Monaco, left, and Prince Albert II of Monaco, right, meet Pope Leo XIV at the Prince's Palace during Leo XIV's one-day pastoral visit to the Principality of Monaco, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool Photo via AP)
Pope Leo XIV, Princess Charlene of Monaco and Prince Albert II of Monaco appear at the Gallery of Hercules balcony at the Prince's Palace in Monaco-Ville, Monaco, Saturday, March 28, 2026.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Leo XIV, Princess Charlene of Monaco, and Prince Albert II of Monaco wave from the Gallery of Hercules balcony at the Prince's Palace in Monaco-Ville, Monaco, Saturday, March 28, 2026.(AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
Pope Leo XIV, Princess Charlene of Monaco and Prince Albert II of Monaco appear at the Gallery of Hercules balcony at the Prince's Palace in Monaco-Ville, Monaco, Saturday, March 28, 2026.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Security forces take position ahead of the arrival of Pope Leo XIV at Monaco Heliport in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, Pool)
Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Charlene of Monaco welcome Pope Leo XIV on the tarmac of Monaco Heliport in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, Pool)
