2025 Miami Open women's preview: Andreeva's path to the Sunshine Double and more top stories

“Let’s try that again” is a common theme of the tennis season. In Doha and Dubai, Madrid and Rome, Canada and Cincinnati, the pros essentially play the same tournaments, on the same surfaces, two weeks in a row. Indian Wells and Miami is the most lucrative, and probably the best known of those back-to-backs—it comes with its own happy-sounding nickname, the Sunshine Double.

It may sound like fun, but it doesn’t come with much rest. The first half of the double ended on Sunday in the California desert; the second half begins on Tuesday in Hard Rock Stadium’s in South Florida. In fact, the tradition is to have the women’s draw done in Miami before the finals are played in Indian Wells.

That tradition continued on Sunday. Here are three storylines to follow on the WTA side in the coming two weeks. The courts get a little faster in Miami, but the field stays the same.

Mirra Andreeva has a path, if she can take it

Seven men have completed the Sunshine Double, but only four women—Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka, and Iga Swiatek, all of whom won at least two majors. Now Andreeva has a chance to add her name to this elite society.

We can forgive her if she’s too tired or burned out or not fully motivated to make it happen. She has already won two straight WTA 1000s, in Dubai and Indian Wells, and she just beat the No. 1 and 2 players in the world in consecutive three-setters. That’s more than enough success for any player, let alone a 17-year-old, for one spring.

But if the Russian is up for it, her draw makes a Miami title plausible. Seeded 11th, she’s in a quarter with Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, and Amanda Anisimova. Pegula and Navarro are still ranked higher than Andreeva, but they might not be for long.

Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek will try again to play a final

Where does Indian Wells leave the WTA’s long-running duopoly? They’re still seeded No. 1 and 2, of course, but for the moment the spotlight has shifted away from them and toward Andreeva. They should probably get used to the idea that they’ll be sharing the stage with the teenager for the foreseeable future. The question for this week is how they’ll react to being out-played by someone so young in the crucial stages of their IW defeats

Of the two, Swiatek has had more success in Miami. She won the title in 2022, while Sabalenka has yet to reach a final there.

Read more: Aryna Sabalenka had the best jokes in her Indian Wells runner-up speech

Swiatek’s quarter includes Madison Keys, Karolina Muchova, Elise Mertens, and Paula Badosa. A quarterfinal meeting with her nemesis, Jelena Ostapenko, is also possible. If Iga makes the semis, she could play Andreeva again.

Sabalenka’s draw is roughly equal in difficulty. Elena Rybakina is in her quarter, as is defending champion Danielle Collins, Zheng Qinwen, and Donna Vekic

No single tournament can be called a “must-win” for any player, but if Sabalenka and Swiatek both come up short in Miami, it will leave the WTA feeling more open coming into the clay season than it has since 2021.

Can the American Top 10 quartet—Gauff, Keys, Pegula and Navarro—regroup before moving to clay?

The Indian Wells fans welcomed their top women players, but it didn’t do much good. Of the four mentioned above, only Keys made it past the round of 16, and she might wish she hadn’t, because she was bageled and breadsticked by Sabalenka in a disastrous semifinal.

Gauff is at one of her periodic low ebbs; the serve and forehand remain major works in progress. Her slumps have always ended at some point, it’s just a question of when. Miami is close to home for her, but she’s never past the fourth round there. If she can find some form this year, though, her draw gives her a chance. The next-highest seed in her quarter is Jasmine Paolini.

Read more: Coco Gauff says her 2025 start is “not as bad as it seems” after Indian Wells loss to Bencic

Pegula and Navarro, by contrast, looked like they had turned the corner when they won titles the week before Indian Wells. But they may feel better on the surface in Miami, which has gradually grown quicker over the years. Pegula has made the semis here twice, and the quarters once. Navarro could play Andreeva in the round of 16.

Finally, how about Keys? She was 18-1 on the season coming into her IW semi with Sabalenka. Was all of that confidence blown away in the hour it took her to lose that match? She has never gone deep in Miami, but she may be happy to get back on court right away this time. Keys could play Ostapenko in the third round, and, if she makes it that far, Swiatek in the semis.