Danielle Collins tops Elena Rybakina to claim Miami title in farewell season

In her final season, American Danielle Collins defeated fourth seed Elena Rybakina 7-5 6-3 to win the Miami Open championship on home turf on Saturday. After an incredible second set that left the spectators, including former Miami champion Andre Agassi, speechless, Collins earned almost 75 percent of her first-serve points and three of her seven break points route to victory in just over two hours.

Collins surprised everyone by winning the East Coast tournament, surpassing her performance from the 2022 Australian Open, where she reached the final. In January, Collins announced that she would retire from tennis at the end of the season.

She becomes the sixth American woman to win the title, following in the footsteps of Sloane Stephens, Chris Evert, Venus Williams, Martina Navratilova, and eight-time champion Serena Williams. The American, ranked unranked, started the match strong, holding break points against Rybakina, who kept tying the score, and ending the first set with an incredible cross-court backhand winner at the hour.

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