Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina contested an instant classic in the Indian Wells final on Sunday night, and could be set to meet again at the upcoming Miami Open.
World No 1 Sabalenka saved a championship point to beat Rybakina in a thrilling three-set battle in Tennis Paradise, and could face the Kazakh in the semi-final of her title defence in Miami.
World No 3 Rybakina will rise to a new high of second in the WTA Rankings on Monday, but with the draw for the WTA 1000 event revealed on Sunday, she remains the third seed and sits in the top half of the draw alongside Sabalenka.
Sabalenka is projected to face 29th seed Wang Xinyu in round three and could then face 15th seed Madison Keys in round four, before a projected quarter-final against seventh seed Jasmine Paolini — the player she beat in the semi-final twelve months ago.
Seventh seed Paolini has been out of form so far this year and faces a tough draw in Miami, with a potential third-round against 25th seed Jelena Ostapenko, and a fourth-round versus ninth seed Elina Svitolina, one of the in-form players of the year.
Meanwhile, Rybakina could face a quarter-final against fifth seed and 2025 Miami runner-up Jessica Pegula, whom she beat in the Australian Open semi-final and Indian Wells quarter-final.
Twice a finalist in Miami, the Kazakh could face 27th seed Marta Kostyuk in round three before a blockbuster round four against 16th seed Naomi Osaka.
Fifth seed Pegula could find herself facing Venus Williams in the second round, before a hypothetical third-round contest against 26th seed Leylah Fernandez.
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The American could then face 11th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova or 24th seed Emma Raducanu in round four, with the latter a potential rematch of the Miami quarter-final won by Pegula in 2025.
The bottom half of the draw is highlighted by second seed and 2022 Miami Open champion Iga Swiatek, who was memorably stunned by Alex Eala twelve months ago.
A year on from that seismic upset, Swiatek could face 31st seed Eala in the third round.
The Pole will need to beat either Magda Linette or Varvara Gracheva to reach round three, while Eala will have to defeat either Laura Siegemund or Petra Marcinko.
Swiatek could face an Indian Wells rematch against 13th seed Karolina Muchova in round four, before a potential quarter-final against either eighth seed Mirra Andreeva or 10th seed Victoria Mboko.
Close friends Andreeva and Mboko have already met twice in 2026, and are projected to meet in the fourth round here.
Should Swiatek reach the semi-final, she is projected to face fourth seed Coco Gauff, who will be back in action after retiring injured in Indian Wells.
The US No 1 does not have the easiest draw, with 28th seed Maya Joint potentially waiting in round three, and 14th seed Linda Noskova — a recent Indian Wells semi-finalist — her projected opponent in round four.
Gauff has also been drawn in the same quarter as compatriot and sixth seed Amanda Anisimova, who will be looking to find her best form after a hit-and-miss season to date.
Anisimova could face 30th seed Cristina Bucsa in round three, and 12th seed Belinda Bencic in round four.
Projected Miami Open quarter-finals
(1) Aryna Sabalenka vs (7) Jasmine Paolini
(3) Elena Rybakina vs (5) Jessica Pegula
(6) Amanda Anisimova vs (4) Coco Gauff
(8) Mirra Andreeva vs (2) Iga Swiatek
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