WTA Miami Women's Singles Draw: Zheng Qinwen and Sabalenka in Same Quarter, Points Defense Situation Tense

On March 16 Beijing time, the WTA1000 Miami women's singles draw was released, with all top ten players participating. Chinese players Zheng Qinwen, Wang Xinyu, and Zhang Shuai directly entered the main draw, while Yuan Yue will start from the qualifying rounds.

Overview of Zheng Qinwen's Advancement Prospects

Zheng Qinwen is in the 1/4 quarter featuring Sabalenka. As the 23rd seed, she enjoys a first-round bye. Her second-round opponent will be the winner between two local wildcard entrants— Stephens and Brady. Zheng Qinwen has won both previous matches against Stephens and has no record against Brady. If she advances to the third round, she may face the 15th seed Keys, and the fourth round could potentially see a matchup with Sabalenka. Zheng Qinwen reached the quarterfinals in Miami last year, making her points defense situation quite challenging.

Wang Xinyu

Zhang Shuai

The 29th seed Wang Xinyu is also in the 1/4 quarter. Her second-round opponent will be either local player McNally or a qualifier, and the third round could potentially see a match against world number one Sabalenka.

Zhang Shuai faces Romanian veteran Cristea, who will retire after this season, in the first round. This will be their sixth encounter, with Zhang Shuai having won three of the previous matches. The winner will face the 14th seed Noskova in the second round, who recently achieved a semifinal result at Indian Wells.

Top Eight Seeds Matchups

[1] Sabalenka vs [7] Paolini

[3] Rybakina vs [5] Pegula

[6] Anisimova vs [4] Gauff

[8] Andreeva vs [2] Swiatek

Defending Champion Sabalenka

After clinching her first title at Indian Wells, Sabalenka aims to become the fifth woman in history to sweep the Sunshine Double in the same season. Sabalenka is one of three former champions in this event's lineup, alongside Stephens (2018 champion) and Swiatek (2022 champion). As the top seed, Sabalenka has a first-round bye. Her first opponent will be either American player J. Lee or a qualifier.

Rybakina

The newly crowned world number two Rybakina leads the 2/4 quarter. She reached the finals here in both 2023 and 2024 but fell short. Her first-round opponent will be either compatriot Putintseva or Indonesian player Tjandramulia. Rybakina's third round could potentially see a match against the 27th seed Kostyuk, while the 16th seed Osaka or the 18th seed Jovic may become her fourth-round opponent. A quarterfinal rematch with Pegula is possible (they have met in the Australian Open and Indian Wells semifinals this year). The 2/4 quarter also features 45-year-old legend Venus Williams, former world number two Badosa, the 11th seed Alexandrova, former US Open champion Raducanu, among others.

Eala

The 3/4 quarter is anchored by two local top-ten players Gauff and Anisimova, both of whom had modest performances at Indian Wells and hope to regain form in Miami. The highlight of the 4/4 quarter is undoubtedly the potential third-round matchup between the 2nd seed Swiatek and Philippine top player Eala. Last year, Eala made a breakthrough by upsetting Swiatek in Miami to reach the semifinals. Recently impressive performers Mboko and Muchova are also in this quarter.

WTA1000 Miami Women's Singles Draw

(Text/Edit: Wang Fei, Image/Visual China)