So far in 2019, there have been 13 WTA tournaments, and every one of them has had a different winner. It has been a season of surprises and breakthroughs, the most recent of which came on Sunday in Indian Wells, where 18-year-old Bianca Andreescu stunned the field. Will we see another shocker at the Miami Open? Can a 14th woman keep the streak alive? Here’s a look at the draw.
If you’re wondering where Andreescu goes from here, the answer is: into the same quarter as Naomi Osaka in Miami. The unseeded Canadian will start her campaign there against the same woman she played in the first round in Indian Wells, Irina-Camelia Begu. The winner will play Sofia Kenin, and the winner of that will likely have a third-round date with Kerber.
As for Osaka, will she be motivated by the fact that there’s suddenly a newer, younger kid on the WTA block? She’ll start against a qualifier, and is looking at a third-round encounter with a woman who almost beat her at the Australian Open, Su-Wei Hsieh. Life probably won’t get easier from there; also in this section are Aryna Sabalenka, Garbiñe Muguruza and Caroline Wozniacki.
First-round match to watch: Amanda Anisimova vs. Andrea Petkovic
Semifinalist: Kerber
This quarter is headed up by two other 2019 champions, Petra Kvitova and Kiki Bertens, both of whom like hard courts, and both of whom are coming off exceedingly tough three-set losses in Indian Wells—Kvitova to Venus Williams, Bertens to Muguruza. This section would seem to give them an opportunity to put those losses behind them with a strong run. The other seeds here are Donna Vekic, Caroline Garcia, Julia Goerges, Ash Barty, Madison Keys and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Player of Interest: Keys. Florida is her home base; after a first-round loss in Indian Wells, can she build some momentum here? She could play Barty in the third round.
First-round match to watch: Victoria Azarenka vs. Dominika Cibulkova
Semifinalist: Bertens
All, or at least many, eyes will be on Sloane Stephens in Miami. She’s the defending champion, but she’s coming off a puzzlingly poor defeat, 6-3, 6-0, to Stefanie Voegele at Indian Wells. Stephens will try to put that behind her when she opens against either Ons Jabeur or Alison van Uytvanck. She could face Camila Giorgi after that.
Other eyes in this section will be on Karolina Pliskova and Belinda Bencic. Each has won a tournament this year, and each would seem to be a threat to win this title as well. Bencic beat Pliskova in three sets in Indian Wells; a round-of-16 rematch is possible in Miami.
Also here: Elise Mertens and 2018 Miami runner-up Jelena Ostapenko. They could meet in the third round.
Semifinalist: Pliskova
Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Simona Halep, Elina Svitolina, Danielle Collins: they’re all stuffed into the bottom quarter.
Serena is not among those 13 players who have won a title this season, but Miami, where she has won eight times, is traditionally where she reasserts herself. Can she do it again, and leave behind the viral illness that knocked her out of Indian Wells? The first seed she could face is Qiang Wang; the second is Svitolina.
Something similar might be asked of Halep. The No. 2 seed also hasn’t won a tournament in 2019, but she does like U.S. hard courts, and this will be her last time on them for a few months.
Wild cards in this section: Mari Osaka, Naomi’s sister; and Cori Gauff, a 15-year-old American who won the French Open girls' title last year.
Semifinalist: Halep
Semifinals: Bertens d. Kerber; Pliskova d. Halep
Final: Pliskova d. Bertens
