WTA third round action begins on Saturday in Miami, the first day where seeds begin to meet in the draws.

American No.1 Jessica Pegula faces fellow American and 2022 Australian Open finalist, Danielle Collins, while a pair of recent Indian Wells champs will collide, in Elena Rybakina and Paula Badosa.  Other WTA matches on Saturday feature three-time Miami Open champion Victoria Azarenka and Florida resident Coco Gauff.

ATP second round competition concludes on Saturday, with names like Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Matteo Berrettini making their 2023 Miami Open debuts.

Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule.  Saturday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.

Jessica Pegula (3) vs. Danielle Collins (30) – Third on Stadium Court

Pegula is 16-5 this season, and easily dispatched of qualifier Katherine Sebov on Thursday.  She is 7-3 lifetime in Miami, and was a semifinalist a year ago, losing to eventual champion Iga Swiatek.

Collins is 9-8 this season, and has not been able to rediscover her top form while battling multiple injuries over the course of the past year.  But she’s been very successful in Miami, with an overall record of 11-4 thanks to a semifinal run in 2018, and a quarterfinal run in 2022.

Pegula claimed their only tour-level meeting, which was an extremely tight affair.  Two years ago in Montreal, Jess prevailed 7-5 in the third on her sixth match point, which ended Danielle’s 12-match win streak at the time.  Pegula is again a favorite to prevail on Saturday, as she’s become one of the WTA’s most consistent performers, and rarely fails to make the second week of big events.  However, Collins always has the power to dictate matters if her aggressive game is clicking.

Elena Rybakina (10) vs. Paula Badosa (21) – Not Before 8:30pm on Stadium Court

Rybakina is 17-4 in 2023, and is coming off a three-set victory on Thursday night over Anna Kalinskaya.  She sits at a career-high of No.7 in the world, though it’s worth noting she’d be in the top five if she had received ranking points for her Wimbledon triumph.  Elena has lost in the third round of Miami in both of her previous appearances.

Badosa is just 6-3 on the year, having pulled out of the Australian Open due to injury.  She defeated Laura Siegemund in three sets in the last round.  Paula’s 7-5 lifetime in Miami, and was a quarterfinalist here a year ago.

Badosa leads their head-to-head 3-2 at tour level, though in this same round of Indian Wells two weeks ago, Rybakina beat Badosa in straight sets.  Elena may be due for a drop in form, coming off the second biggest title run of her career.  But based on her recent level of play, Rybakina must still be considered the favorite on Saturday.

Other Notable Matches on Saturday:

Richard Gasquet vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (2) – Tsitsipas is 11-3 this year, but lost his opening round match at Indian Wells to Jordan Thompson in a final-set tiebreak.  Gasquet is 9-7, and began the year by winning a title in Auckland.  These two one-handed backhanders have split two previous meetings, which both occurred in 2018.

Magda Linette (20) vs. Victoria Azarenka (14) – This is a battle between 2023 Australian Open semifinalists.  Azarenka is 2-0 against Linette, which includes a comfortable victory seven years ago at this event.

Anastasia Potapova (27) vs. Coco Gauff (6) – Gauff is now 15-4 on the year, while Potapova is 13-7, having won a hard court title last month in Linz.  Coco leads their head-to-head 2-0.

Mackenzie McDonald vs. Matteo Berrettini (19) – McDonald is now 8-0 in first round matches this season, but just 5-7 in rounds thereafter.  Berrettini has suffered some tough losses in 2023, and is a modest 7-6 at all levels, having played a Challenger event in Phoenix last week following his early exit at Indian Wells.  Matteo is 2-0 against Mackie, with both matches taking place on hard courts.

Hubert Hurkacz (8) vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis (LL) – Hurkacz won this tournament two years ago, and advanced to the semifinals in 2022.  Kokkinakis is a lucky loser who saved three match points in his opening round against Zizou Bergs, prevailing in a final-set tiebreak.  Five years ago in qualifying for Atlanta, Thanasi beat Hubi in straight sets.

Roberto Carballes Baena vs. Daniil Medvedev (4) – This is Medvedev’s first match since his 19-match winning streak was ended by Carlos Alcaraz in the final of Indian Wells.  He beat Carballes Baena in straight sets two years ago at the Australian Open.

Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.

Tensions between the WTA and Ukrainian tennis continue to rise after the governing body was accused of not responding to a request to hold a meeting.

Earlier this month Leisa Tsurenko said she and her teammates had requested a meeting with the WTA board following a discussion she held with its CEO Steve Simon. The world No.81 said she was told by the official that she shouldn’t get upset if other players on the Tour support Russia’s war against her country as it is only their opinion. It was also alleged that Simon said he expects Russia will be allowed to compete in the Olympics under their ‘principles’ and support given to Ukrainian players on the Tour is under review.

“I was absolutely shocked by what I heard,” Tsurenko told BTU.
“He told me that he himself does not support the war, but if the players from Russia and Belarus support it, then this is only their own opinion, and the opinion of other people should not upset me.
“At the same time, he noted that if this had happened to him and he had been in my place, he would have felt terrible.”

Tsurenko withdrew from her match against Aryna Sabalenka in Indian Wells due to a panic attack which she linked to her meeting with Simon.

Speaking further about the matter at the Miami Open on Thursday, Marta Kostyuk said requests made by players from her country to speak with the WTA have failed to occur. Saying that there has so far been ‘silence’ from the WTA. When asked by journalists about what the players wanted to discuss, Kostyuk was reluctant to go into details.

“Yes, we wanted to have the meeting with the board and we didn’t get one. No reply, nothing, just silence,” AFP quoted her as saying.
“I mean, once we’re in the meeting we can talk about it. Before the meeting, I don’t think it’s a good idea to talk about what we want to talk about there,” she added. 

Kostyuk was knocked out of the Miami Open by 27th seed Anastasia Potapova who prevailed 6-1, 6-3. She refused to shake her hands following their match which is something the 20-year-old has also done when facing other Russian players. Potapova was recently issued with a warning from the WTA for wearing a Spartak Moscow football shirt whilst walking onto the court to play a match.

Although Kostyuk appears to not be entirely satisfied with the action taken to deal with Potapova.

“There are a lot of things that I don’t agree with that WTA is doing. This not going to change anything,” she commented.
“I’ll just get more hate online. Whatever I say, I will get a lot of hate. I don’t know. Warning, whatever. You give her a warning… You can suspend someone, I don’t know. I can’t comment on that really, it’s just funny.”

Both the ATP and WTA have voiced opposition to calls for Russian players to be banned from the Tour. Instead, they are currently allowed to compete under a neutral status. The same applied to players from Belarus whose government is accused of supporting the war. 

Second round ATP and WTA action takes place on Friday in Miami.

The WTA’s top two Canadian players will take part in two of the day’s best matchups.  2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu takes on Maria Sakkari, while 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez plays Belinda Bencic.

Other action on Friday includes top names such as Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, Casper Ruud, and Ons Jabeur.

Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule.  Friday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.

Maria Sakkari (7) vs. Bianca Andreescu – 12:00pm on Stadium Court

Andreescu is 7-6 this season, and overcame fellow US Open champ Emma Raducanu in the first round.  This is only her third appearance in Miami, but she is 9-2 at this event, and was the runner-up the last time she played here in 2021.

Sakkari is now 15-6 on the year, yet is just 7-5 in Miami.  Four of those wins came during her semifinal run in 2021, when she lost to Andreescu in a dramatic three-setter.

That 2021 semifinal lasted nearly three hours, with Andreescu eventually prevailing in a third-set tiebreak well after midnight.  Their only other meeting occurred later that year at the US Open, with Sakkari winning 6-3 in the third.  In the rubber match on Friday, Maria has to be considered the favorite based on recent form, though it’s hard to ever count out Bianca, one of the sport’s most dogged competitors.

Leylah Fernandez vs. Belinda Bencic (9) – Fifth on Butch Buchholz Court

Fernandez is 8-6 in 2023, and on Wednesday earned her first-ever victory in Miami, over Lesia Tsurenko.  Leylah has struggled to regain her form after suffering a serious foot injury in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros last June.

Bencic is a strong 15-4 to start the season, and has already collected two hard court titles (Adelaide, Abu Dhabi).  While she’s just 8-6 lifetime in Miami, she did advance to the semifinals last year, losing to Naomi Osaka.

Leylah and Belinda have split four previous matches, two of which occurred during the Billie Jean King Cup, most recently last fall when Bencic won in straights.  Just a few weeks earlier, Bencic also defeated Fernandez, this time 6-3 in the third in Guadalajara.  This is another case where the Canadian should be considered the underdog, but a Canadian victory would not be shocking.

Other Notable Matches on Friday:

Andrey Rublev (6) vs. J.J. Wolf – Rublev is a modest 11-7 this year, and just 10-7 in Miami.  Wolf is 9-6 this year, and reached the second week of a Major for the first time in Melbourne.  Last summer in Washington, Andrey defeated J.J. in straight sets.

Varvara Gracheva (Q) vs. Ons Jabeur (4) – Jabeur is just 4-3 on the year, having undergone a minor surgery after the Australian Open.  She’s is 1-0 against Gracheva, having defeated her in three sets last year in Madrid on clay.

Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Facundo Bagnis – Alcaraz is 14-1 since February, and needs to defend this title in order to retain the No.1 ranking.  Bagnis’ win in the opening round was his first ATP-level main draw victory on a hard court since August.  Last summer on clay in Umag, Alcaraz beat Bagnis 6-0, 6-4.

Caroline Garcia (5) vs. Sorana Cirstea – This is a rematch from just last week at Indian Wells, when Cirstea upset Garcia 7-5 in the third.  Caroline claimed their other two previous meetings, though all three have now gone three sets.

Shelby Rogers vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Sabalenka is now 17-2 in 2023, but is only 4-4 lifetime in Miami.  Rogers eliminated another Slam champ, Sloane Stephens, in the first round.  Aryna is 3-0 against Shelby, which includes a straight-set victory at January’s Australian Open.

Casper Ruud (3) vs. Ilya Ivashka – Ruud is defending runner-up points from a year ago, but is only 4-5 this season.  Ivashka arrived at Indian Wells on a nine-match losing streak, yet has now claimed three of his last four matches. 

Friday’s full Order of Play is here.