Aryna Sabalenka names favorite Miami spots, flaunts new magazine cover

Is Aryna Sabalenka ready to be bicoastal?

The world No. 1 and self-proclaimed Miami Girl finds herself increasingly more amenable to California living after a second run to the BNP Paribas Open final.

“Everyone who lives here spends half the time there and half the time here,” she said after a statement opening win at the 2025 Miami Open. “I think that’s a perfect combination.”

Sabalenka dealt with windy conditions on Thursday to topple Viktoriya Tomova, 6-3, 6-0 and kick off what she hopes will be a career-best result at the Hard Rock Stadium.

“I like it here, and honestly, I have no answer for why I couldn’t play really well here before,” she told Prakash Amritraj at the Tennis Channel Cadillac Desk.

“At first, I was just a newcomer to the tour and I was learning. Then, I was making it really far at Indian Wells and I didn’t know how to manage playing back-to-back tournaments and being on top of the game every day. I didn’t have a really good mindset last year. So, I’m working really hard to be successful in Miami and one day, I’ll make it happen.”

Despite the quick turnaround from Saturday’s Indian Wells final—where she suffered a tough loss to 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva from a set up—Sabalenka made the most of her off-court time in what she calls the “Party City,” celebrating a Flaunt Magazine cover with good friend and restaurateur Dave Grutman.

“I go for Dave’s spots,” Sabalenka said of Grutman, a longtime tennis enthusiast. “It’s always a good choice.

“On a daily basis, I have a couple favorite sports, like Makoto and Houston’s, but to celebrate and have fun, there’s definitely Gekko and Casadonna.”

After falling just short of a first WTA 1000 title for 2025, Sabalenka hopes to go one match better than her Indian Wells result, allowing her to end the Sunshine Swing with an even more substantial lead atop the WTA rankings.

“I just hope I can bring the same level I had in Indian Wells and improve it a little bit so I can go all the way. I hope with every match I play, I can increase the level. Particularly here, I will work on finishing points at the net because I feel like the surface is quite heavy on the legs and slower, so I feel like I need to go to the net. Hopefully, maybe, who knows!”

Sabalenka will next face Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the third round.