What is a 'Sunshine Double'? Explaining Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka's rare feat

Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka over the weekend both completed a rare "Sunshine Double" -- respectively becoming only the eighth man and the fifth woman in tennis history to do so.

The "Sunshine Double" consists of winning both the Indian Wells and Miami Open titles back-to-back. It is an incredibly rare feat in tennis that many modern greats including Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams did not achieve in their illustrious careers.

Men's world No.2 Sinner and women's world No.1 Sabalenka have now joined an exclusive club and are in the company of tennis icons such as Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Steffi Graf.

Only two players have ever won the "Sunshine Double" in back-to-back years -- Federer in 2005 and 2006 and Djokovic in 2014, 2015, and 2016.

Sinner beat Czechia's Jiri Lehecka 6-4 6-4 in the Miami Open final to become the first man since Federer in 2017 to win the elusive "Sunshine Double," while Sabalenka did it by beating hometown hero Coco Gauff 6-2 4-6 6-3 in a rematch of the 2025 French Open that was won by Gauff.

Before Sabalenka, the last woman to achieve the "Sunshine Double" was Iga Swiatek in 2022.

Full list of players to have achieved a "Sunshine Double:"

Men:

Jim Courier (1991)

Michael Chang (1992)

Pete Sampras (1994)

Marcelo Rios (1998)

Andre Agassi (2001)

Roger Federer (2005-06)

Novak Djokovic (2011, 2014, 2015, 2016)

Jannik Sinner (2026)

Women:

Steffi Graf (1994, 1996)

Kim Clijsters (2005)

Victoria Azarenka (2016)

Iga Swiatek (2022)

Aryna Sabalenka (2026)

Information from Press Association was used in this report.

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