Indian Wells and Miami 2026 recap: Jannik Sinner completes the Sunshine Double without dropping a set

Jannik Sinner won both ATP Masters 1000 events of the American spring hard-court swing in March 2026. He beat Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells final on 15 March and Jiri Lehecka in the Miami Open final on 29 March, without losing a set at either tournament.

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Indian Wells: two tie-breaks against Medvedev

The Indian Wells final was decided by fine margins. Neither man lost serve in a match that lasted one hour and 55 minutes, and Sinner won it 7-6(6) 7-6(4). He needed a medical timeout to have his right ankle re-taped in the first set, and in the second-set tie-break he trailed 0-4 before winning seven points in a row, according to the ATP Tour.

The title completed a rare set for the Italian. He became only the third man, after Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, to have won all six hard-court Masters 1000 tournaments. Having also won the Paris Masters the previous November without dropping a set, he became the first man since the series began in 1990 to win back-to-back Masters 1000 titles without losing a set. "I kept believing and kept pushing," Sinner said, as reported by the ATP Tour.

Medvedev's run was the other headline in the desert. The 11th seed beat world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz 6-3 7-6(3) in the semi-finals on 14 March, ending the Spaniard's 16-match unbeaten start to 2026, which had included the Australian Open title. In the other semi-final, Sinner beat Alexander Zverev 6-2 6-4. Medvedev, champion in Brisbane and Dubai earlier in the season, returned to the top 10 after the tournament.

Miami: Korda stops Alcaraz again

Alcaraz's difficult March continued in Florida. On 22 March, Sebastian Korda, then ranked No 36, beat him 6-3 5-7 6-4 in the third round for his first win over a world No 1. Korda had been broken at love when serving for the match in the second set, but broke for 4-3 in the decider and held on. "He's unbelievable in every aspect of his game," Korda said of his opponent, according to Flashscore.

The surprise finalist came from the bottom of the draw. Lehecka, the 21st seed, did not lose a single service game on his way to the title match and beat Arthur Fils 6-2 6-2 in the semi-finals on 27 March. The ATP noted he was the first player to reach a Masters 1000 final without losing serve since Djokovic in Shanghai in 2018. Sinner beat Zverev for the second time in a fortnight, 6-3 7-6(4), to set up the final.

A rain-hit final and the Sunshine Double

The final on 29 March started 90 minutes late because of rain and was interrupted again for close to an hour and a half during the second set. Once play was possible, Sinner was in control. He broke Lehecka early, ending the Czech's run of unbroken service games, won his first 23 points behind his first serve according to ESPN, and saved all three break points he faced. He took the title 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 33 minutes of playing time.

It was Sinner's second Miami title after 2024 and completed the Sunshine Double. He became the eighth man to win Indian Wells and Miami in the same year, the first since Federer in 2017, and the first to do it without dropping a set. His run of consecutive sets won at Masters 1000 level reached 34. "It means a lot to me," he said, as quoted by the ATP Tour. On the women's side, Aryna Sabalenka had completed the same double the day before.

What it meant

The two weeks reshaped the season. Sinner arrived in California without a title in 2026 and left Florida with two, closing to 1,190 points behind Alcaraz in the live rankings. Lehecka rose to a career-high No 14 after his first Masters 1000 final. For Alcaraz, two defeats in a month ended the aura of invincibility he had built in Melbourne, and his rivalry with Sinner moved on to the clay of Monte-Carlo, where the No 1 ranking was at stake.