The dust is only starting to settle on what was a thrilling women\u2019s event in Indian Wells, but all attention now quickly turns to the Miami Open \u2014 the second half of the \u2018Sunshine Double\u2019.<\/p>\n
Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula to lift the title at the WTA 1000 event twelve months ago<\/a>, and both women are back in action this year, joining Iga Swiatek<\/a>, Elena Rybakina<\/a>, and Coco Gauff<\/a> among the top seeds and leading title contenders.<\/p>\n Here, we make our predictions for how the action could pan out in Miami.<\/p>\n Miami Open withdrawal list: 20 players out as Djokovic & Raducanu among 4 Grand Slam winners<\/a><\/p>\n Novak Djokovic\u2019s Miami Open withdrawal leaves Martina Navratilova concerned for one reason<\/a><\/p>\n Projected Q\/F: (1) Aryna Sabalenka vs (7) Jasmine Paolini<\/em><\/p>\n Entering as the defending Miami champion and the new Indian Wells champion<\/a>, can Sabalenka<\/a> retain her title and also complete the \u2018Sunshine Double\u2019 this year?<\/p>\n The world No 1 has a favourable draw early on, but could get an interesting test in round four, where she could potentially face 15th seed Madison Keys or 23rd seed Zheng Qinwen.<\/p>\n Victory there would lead Sabalenka to a projected quarter-final against seventh seed\u00a0Paolini<\/a>, whom she beat in the semi-final of this event twelve months ago.<\/p>\n Paolini has not been at her best so far in 2026, and the Italian has a tough draw early on, with a potential round-three clash against 25th seed Jelena Ostapenko, a former finalist in Miami.<\/p>\n The Italian is also projected to face ninth seed Elina Svitolina<\/a> in the fourth round, with the Ukrainian in superb form across the opening months of the season.<\/p>\n Prediction<\/strong>: Sabalenka def Svitolina<\/p>\n Projected Q\/F: (3) Elena Rybakina vs (5) Jessica Pegula<\/em><\/p>\n Rybakina and Pegula<\/a> have already met at the Australian Open and in Indian Wells this year, and are projected for yet another showdown in Miami.<\/p>\n The Kazakh won both their matches this season and looked in strong form in Indian Wells despite her final defeat, though she does not have the easiest early draw here.<\/p>\n She could again face 27th seed Marta Kostyuk, another player she beat in Indian Wells, in round three, before a potential blockbuster in the fourth round versus Naomi Osaka<\/a>, the 16th seed.<\/p>\n 2025 Miami runner-up Pegula could face Venus Williams<\/a> in her opener and then face a test against 26th seed Leylah Fernandez in round three, before a potential fourth-round against 11th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.<\/p>\n The question for Pegula, if she does end up facing Rybakina, is: what can she do to snap her losing streak against the Australian Open champion?<\/p>\n Prediction<\/strong>: Rybakina def Pegula<\/p>\n Projected Q\/F: (6) Amanda Anisimova vs (4) Coco Gauff<\/em><\/p>\n Neither Anisimova<\/a> nor Gauff have been at their free-flowing best throughout parts of 2026, and both American stars will be looking to rediscover their best form on home soil.<\/p>\n Sixth seed Anisimova has a kind draw in the opening rounds but could face a tough test in round four against 12th seed Belinda Bencic<\/a>, before a hypothetical quarter-final against Gauff.<\/p>\n There are question marks over the fourth seed heading into Miami, following her Indian Wells retirement<\/a>, and the 21-year-old does not have the easiest draw here.<\/p>\n Gauff could face Elisabetta Cocciaretto \u2014 who beat her in Doha last month<\/a> \u2014 in round two, and then has a potential fourth-round versus 14th seed Linda Noskova<\/a>.<\/p>\n Noskova has been in incredibly solid form over the past six to nine months, and comes in fresh off a run to the Indian Wells last four.<\/p>\n Prediction<\/strong>: Noskova def Bencic<\/p>\n Projected Q\/F: (8) Mirra Andreeva vs (2) Iga Swiatek<\/em><\/p>\n Swiatek was the Miami Open champion back in 2022, but has been in patchy form throughout the opening weeks of the season.<\/p>\n The Pole could face a Miami rematch against 31st seed Alex Eala<\/a> in round three, twelve months on from the Filipina\u2019s stunning upset at this very event<\/a>, and is then, much like in Indian Wells, expected to face 13th seed Karolina Muchova.<\/p>\n All that is expected to lead to a quarter-final against Andreeva<\/a>, but much like Swiatek, the Russian hasn\u2019t always been at her best in recent weeks.<\/p>\n Looking to bounce back from her early Indian Wells exit, Andreeva could face 32nd seed Marie Bouzkova in round three, before a blockbuster clash against tenth seed Victoria Mboko<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mboko and Andreeva have split their two meetings this season, though the Canadian is perhaps the in-form player of this mini-section \u2014 and quarter as a whole.<\/p>\n Prediction<\/strong>: Mboko def Swiatek<\/p>\n Rybakina def Sabalenka<\/p>\n Noskova def Mboko<\/p>\n Rybakina def Noskova<\/p>\n Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n Read Next<\/strong>: Swiatek\u2019s blunt warning, Raducanu\u2019s potential rankings blow, Uncle Toni disagrees with Alcaraz \u2013 Miami Open roundup<\/a><\/p>\n The post WTA Miami Open Predictions: Sabalenka & Rybakina rivalry continues, Swiatek faces more disappointment<\/a> appeared first on Tennis365<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The dust is only starting to settle on what was a thrilling women\u2019s event in Indian Wells, but all attention now quickly turns to the Miami Open \u2014 the second half of the \u2018Sunshine Double\u2019. Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula to lift the title at the WTA 1000 event twelve months ago, and both women […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1891\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Tennis News<\/h2>\n
First Quarter<\/h2>\n
Second Quarter<\/h2>\n
Third Quarter<\/h2>\n
Fourth Quarter<\/h2>\n
Semi-final predictions<\/h2>\n
Final prediction<\/h2>\n