Aryna Sabalenka, the No. 1 player in the world and top seed at this week’s Miami Open, was still basking in her championship run at Indian Wells last week in her media session Tuesday morning. If not for one amazing service return by Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, the third seed here, would have been lifting the championship trophy.

Both Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka are hopeful of joining the exclusive club of players to have completed the arduous task of winning the Sunshine Double. Only seven men have won both the Indian Wells and Miami Open Masters 1000 series event in the same year, but none since 2017 when Roger Federer did it for the third time.

The 2026 Miami Open presented by Itaú will be played March 15 – March 29 at Hard Rock Stadium. The 15-day event is owned and operated by MARI and Hard Rock Stadium. The Miami Open is one of nine ATP Masters 1000 Series events on the ATP calendar, a WTA 1000 event on the WTA calendar, and annually hosts the world’s best players, with recent champions including the top players in each tour’s rankings – Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek. Here are some fun notes from the session.

Last year’s finalist Jessica Pegula and defending Miami Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, fresh off a sensational championship run at Indian Wells, met with the media Tuesday and tennis wasn’t the only subject matter. Here are some fun notes from the session.

Last year’s finalist Jessica Pegula and defending Miami Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, fresh off a sensational championship run at Indian Wells, met with the media Tuesday and tennis wasn’t the only subject matter. Here are some fun notes from the session.

A year ago, Jakub Mensik was virtually unknown in America. Two weeks and 111 aces later, the 6-foot-5 Czechian shocked the tennis world with a 7-6, 7-6 victory over his idol and six-time Miami Open champion Novak Djokovic to lift the beautiful Butch Buchholz trophy. He became the fourth man in history to notch his first title in the Miami Open and the second youngest Miami champion at age 19 behind Carlos Alcaraz, who won in 2022 when he was 18.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Miami Open presented by Itaú proudly presents Women’s Empowerment Day, a campus wide celebration filled with immersive experiences leading up to a star-powered panel at 5 p.m.

It’s not often one finds a 25-year-old Grand Slam champion with 1000-level titles on her resume, fighting through qualifying at the Miami Open. But when your name is Bianca Andreescu, the affable Canadian who has had the most horrific run of injuries over the past seven years, including an emergency appendectomy in 2025, then her latest comeback is understandable. Fritz, a Californian transplant living in Miami, served his way to a semifinal meeting here last year where, despite not dropping his serve, lost a tight, three-set skirmish to then unheralded 19-year-old Jakub Mensik of Czechia. Mensik then shocked six-time Miami Open champion Novak Djokovic in two tiebreakers to lift his first ATP title.

The Miami Open men’s main draw came out Monday evening, and it’s loaded with early-round blockbuster matches, including Taylor Fritz, the sixth-seed top-ranked American, who may have to navigate a treacherous path in the top half just to reach a potential quarterfinal clash with world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. Fritz, a Californian transplant living in Miami, served his way to a semifinal meeting here last year where, despite not dropping his serve, lost a tight, three-set skirmish to then unheralded 19-year-old Jakub Mensik of Czechia. Mensik then shocked six-time Miami Open champion Novak Djokovic in two tiebreakers to lift his first ATP title.

As the world of professional tennis continues to evolve, the Miami Open is expanding its footprint beyond the baseline. This year, the tournament welcomes the all-new Pro Padel League (PPL) II to South Florida, introducing fans to one of the fastest-growing sports in the world on one of tennis’s biggest stages.