Iga Swiatek returns to the Miami Open aiming for her second Sunshine Double

by Daniel Perisse

One year ago, Iga Swiatek announced in a press conference her withdrawal from the 2023 Miami Open due to an injury but leaving  “only having good memories” from the Magic City.

This season, the Polish is back and ready for more great moments. And the numbers are in her favor: currently at World No. 1, she holds a 20-2 record this year, with the most wins on the WTA tour.

That includes a 6-4, 6-1 win over Maria Sakkari in the Indian Wells final, which qualifies Iga to aim for another shot at the Sunshine Double. She won in California and Miami in 2022, and if she does it again, she will tie with Steffi Graff (1994, 1996) as the only women to have done it twice.

The 22-year-old is the No. 1 seed in the draw, awaiting the winner of the clash between Italy’s Camila Giorgi and Magdalena Frech, also from Poland.

Petra Kvitova, who denied Elena Rybakina the chance of winning the Sunshine Double last year by defeating her in the Women’s Singles final, will not play this year since she is currently on maternity leave, which makes the draw even more unpredictable.

The No. 2 seed, Aryna Sabalenka, will face a tough opponent on her debut: she expects the winner of Spaniard Paula Badosa and former No. 1 Simona Halep, who makes her return to professional tennis at the Hard Rock Stadium with a wild card.

Once again, a crowd favorite will be World No. 3 Coco Gauff. The Delray Beach, Fla. native lost to Sakkari in the Indian Wells semifinals and comes to the Magic City for the first time after winning last year’s US Open. She also reached the final fourduring the recent Australian Open, which is enough to keep an eye on her performance.

Gauff will face either countrywoman Ashlyn Krueger or a qualifier/lucky loser.

Rybakina, last year’s runner-up, is the No. 4 seed and plays against Caroline Dolehide or a qualifier/lucky loser.

Buffalo native Jessica Pegula, seeded as No. 5, debuts against the winner of the match between Czech Marie Bouzkova and Zhu Lin, from China.

Another American on the rise is 22-year-old Emma Navarro. The former University of Virginia player won the Hobart title in 2024 and is currently at the No. 23 spot in the WTA Rankings. She will face either Martina Trevisan or a qualifier/lucky loser.

Other former World No. 1 players to watch in the main draw are Naomi Osaka, who plays Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto; German Angelique Kerber, who will face Sloane Stephens from the US, and Venus Williams, whose first-round opponent will be Diana Shnaider.

Those four No. 1s are among the 15 Grand Slam title winners in the field, seven of who are unseeded, putting them straight into the action with opening round matches. Those on the bottom half of the draw will start Tuesday, while the top half will see their first serves on Wednesday.

The Women’s Singles main draw begins on Tuesday at 11 am. Download the order of play for tomorrow and get your tickets here.