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The second 1000-tier event of the ‘Sunshine Swing’ is right around the corner, at the time of writing. As many of you will know, the Miami Open is the second huge Masters tournament played in the USA in March. Therefore, with the tournament quickly approaching, I figured now was the ideal time to provide a Miami Open preview.
And just for clarity, the Miami Open is a tournament that is held for both the ATP and WTA Tours. For both events, the Miami Open is a 1000-level tournament, meaning that there are 1000 points up for grabs here.
Of course, this is significant in terms of rankings points, and that’s precisely why all of the best players in the world are flocking to Miami next week. However, as part of this Miami Open 2023 preview, I want to discuss some specifics relating to the top players involved, the Miami Open schedule, and more. So – ready to digest this fully up-to-date preview before things begin?
Let’s dive right in now.
Miami Open Preview for the 2023 Event
In order to give you all of the necessary details ahead of this tournament, I’ve covered several key areas below. Please note that at the time of writing, the Miami Open draw has not been published. Therefore, I cannot give specifics on potential clashes or exact matches for each day. But despite the absence of the 2023 Miami Open draw, I can still discuss plenty of interesting topics relating to this event.
Miami Open Tournament History
I may as well start by talking about the history of this event before looking at how things stand for 2023. On that note, many people don’t realize quite how old this tournament is. Amazingly, it was founded 38 years ago, meaning that the first tournament was played in 1985. Back then, the Miami Open was played in Delray Beach, Florida. However, the tournament has moved through several other locations since then.
In 1986, the tournament was played in Boca West, Florida. Then in 1987, the event moved for the third time in three years to Key Biscayne, Florida. Finally, the location of the event then settled down for three decades before it moved for the 4th time to Miami Gardens, Florida, in 2019. And interestingly, it’s two Americans who hold the records for the most Miami Open title wins.
On the men’s side, it’s Andre Agassi with 6 titles, but Novak Djokovic also has 6 in his locker too, so this record is shared. Yet for the women’s side, the all-time Miami Open title leader is Serena Williams with 8 titles.
Biggest Stories Relating to the Event
There are two main categories relating to the biggest stories of the 2023 Miami Open. One of these categories is the recent wild card announcements, and the other covers Miami Open withdrawals/absences. Of course, everything else concerning the draw, seeds, and who’s playing who is not yet known. So, let me start with the wildcards as part of this Miami Open preview.
For the men’s Miami Open, the following main draw wildcards have been issued (along with accompanying rankings):
- Dominic Thiem (AUT) – 102
- Taro Daniel (JPN) – 103
- Zizou Bergs (BEL) – 139
- Juncheng Shang (CHN) – 171
- Emilio Nava (USA) – 188
As for the women’s Miami Open, there are some more interesting wildcard announcements. Here is the full list:
- Emma Raducanu (GBR) – 77
- Erika Andreeva – 127
- Ashlyn Krueger (USA) – 154
- Brenda Fruhvirtova (CZE) – 163
- Robin Montgomery (USA) – 187
- Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva (AND) – 194
- Alexandra Eala (PHI) – 220
- Hailey Baptiste (USA) – 270
Adding to these announcements, as promised, I wish to also highlight any withdrawals and top players that are missing. On the men’s side, the biggest players who aren’t competing include Djokovic and Nadal. As for the women’s event, no official withdrawals have been announced yet, but there are question marks over Madison Keys following her retirement in Indian Wells.
Top Players Competing
Let me now get back to the good news for this Miami Open preview! For the ATP Miami Open tournament, all of the big guys are expected to be there besides Nadal and Djokovic. This means that guys like Alcaraz, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Ruud, and all of the other top 10 players will be there. And this promising lineup also holds true when looking at the WTA Miami Open.
Of course, the defending champion and world number one, Iga Swiatek is headlining the event. Yet she is joined by the Australian Open champion, Aryna Sabalenka, as well as Pegula, Jabeur, Sakkari, Rybakina, Gauff, and many more! Needless to say, this stacked lineup in both events should guarantee plenty of entertaining tennis.
Miami Open 2023 Preview for the Schedule
The women’s qualifying draw for the Miami Open actually begins on Sunday, March 19th. This is the same day that the men’s singles final will be played in Indian Wells. From here, both the women’s and men’s qualifying matches will be played on Monday, March 20th. And the qualifying draws will then be wrapped up on Tuesday, March 21st. As it happens, this is also the day that the first round of the women’s singles event will be played.
Beyond that point, both the men’s and women’s singles events will go through a progressive knockout process. With both draws following a 96-player format, this means that the women’s singles final will be played on Saturday, April 1st. And the men’s final will be played on Sunday, April 2nd.
Furthermore, for those who are interested, the doubles action is scheduled to begin on Thursday, March 23rd. So this is the point at which you can watch both doubles and singles action at the Miami Open.
Where You Can Watch the Miami Open
The final part of this Miami Open preview is arguably the most important of all for those who wish to watch the event. So to clarify, in the United Kingdom, all of the coverage of the Miami Open will be serviced by Amazon Prime. This is only accessible if you have an Amazon Prime account, which can be purchased for a price of £8.99 per month.
By grabbing this subscription before the Miami Open begins, you can pick and choose your court to watch whatever matches you like – another major positive of Amazon Prime being the provider!
