The Sunshine Double
This week we dive into the famous ‘Sunshine Double’ in tennis: Indian Wells and Miami. As we head into the latter of the two tournaments, we take a look at the winners from Indian Wells, and the importance of these two tournaments for the tour.
Miami Open
While the Indian Wells tournament ended last weekend, it is the Miami Open that is starting today. These two tournaments, which are the two major events on the Tour in March each year, are called the ‘Sunshine Double’ and are the last fast-paced events before the clay court season opens.
Miami Open is a fairly recent Tour event, having been established in 1985. Nevertheless, it stands out as an unmissable tournament. First of all, the prize money for the Miami Open is significant, which is always an important factor, especially for the lower ranked players. In addition, it is one of the only tournaments that invites more than 64 players to its final draw, with 96 players participating in both the men’s and women’s final draws. Winning either tournament in the so called Sunshine Double brings great exposure within the US for players as there are a lot of eyeballs on these two historic events, as well as a huge amount of celebrities and A-listers in attendance.
The Miami Open is an event that the best players make sure not to miss every year. It has been won eight times by Serena Williams in the women’s event and six times by Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic in the men’s event. Alcaraz is the youngest man person to have won this iconic tournament (18 years old in 2022) and Monica Seles is the youngest woman player (16 years old in 1990), while Roger Federer and Serena Williams are the oldest players, respectively 37 years old in 2019 and 33 years old in 2015, to have lifted this trophy.
Focus on Alcaraz — Indian Wells Men Winner
Carlos Alcaraz is only 19 years old and just won Indian Wells last weekend. Despite his young age, his victory was not a surprise. In addition to becoming the youngest ATP World №1 in tennis history, Alcaraz has already won eight tournaments on the ATP Tour, including the 2022 US Open and two Masters 1000 events in addition to Indian Wells last week.
A native of Murcia, Spain, and coached by Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former world number one who won the French Open in 2003, Alcaraz is a tennis and athletic phenomenon who has attracted the attention of many sports fans for several years. As crazy as it seems, Carlos does also have significant room for improvement as he has never made it past the third round of the Australian Open or the round of 16 at Wimbledon.
In addition to his outstanding tennis and technical skills, Alcaraz is distinguished by his physical abilities, particularly his extraordinary endurance on the court.
Focus on Rybakina — Indian Wells Women winner:
Elena Rybakina, 23, won the Indian Wells women’s tournament last weekend. Like Alcaraz, Rybakina has already shown her talents by winning significant tournaments in the past, including Wimbledon in 2022. Rybakina is also a personality whose sporting achievements are making history in her country of citizenship as the first Kazakhstani to win a Grand Slam tournament and the first to be ranked in the top 10 in world tennis. She also has room for improvement in the years to come as, at the US Open for example, she has only reached the 3rd round at best so far, in 2021.
On the court, Rybakina’s devastating serve is what sets her apart from her opponents. She seems to be extremely composed and calculated, playing very clean tennis on the hard courts.
As the end of the Sunshine Double approaches, we look forward to a European summer with the tour moving onto the clay. Will we see the return of Rafael Nadal and his dominance on the surface, or are we in for a few surprises?
