Miami Open 2026 411: Dates, draw format, seeds, wild cards and prize money

Author: Cole Bambini

4m read 13 Mar 2026 4h ago

Summary

The 2026 Miami Open will feature four previous winners of the event, including Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Venus Williams. From dates, prize money, seeds and ranking points, here is everything to know about the second tournament of the Sunshine Double.

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With the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells set to wrap up over the weekend, the Sunshine Double on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz turns the page to the Miami Open presented by Itaú.

The fourth WTA 1000 event of the season will conclude the Sunshine Swing. The tournament is slated to feature the entire top 10 in the PIF WTA Rankings, including past champions Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek as well as Alexandra Eala, whose breakthrough came in Miami a year ago.

From dates, draws, seeds and prize money, here is everything to know about the 2026 Miami Open:

What are the dates for each round?

Main-draw matches from Miami Gardens will begin on Tuesday, March 17. For the first week through the first day of quarterfinals, play will begin at 11:00 a.m. EST (3:00 p.m. GMT), before starting in the afternoon during the final rounds of the tournament.

The singles final will be played on Saturday, March 28 at 3:00 p.m. local (7:00 p.m. GMT), while the doubles final will conclude the tournament on Sunday, March 29 at 12:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. GMT). Here are the scheduled dates for each of the draws:

Singles
Qualifiers: March. 15-16
First round: March 17-18
Second round: March 19-20
Third round: March 21-22
Fourth round: March 23
Quarterfinals: March 24-25
Semifinals: March 26
Final: March 28

Doubles
First round: March 20-21
Second round: March 22-23
Quarterfinals: March 24-25
Semifinals: March 27
Final: March 29

What are the draws, top seeds and notable wild cards?

In singles, there is a 96-player draw, featuring 75 direct entrants, 12 qualifiers, eight wild cards and one special exempt player. For doubles, there is a 32-team draw. The main draw will be released Sunday, March 15, with a full breakdown to be published on wtatennis.com.

Similar to Indian Wells, the current top five seeds in Miami are projected to be Sabalenka, Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, and are among the top 32 seeds in the event that will receive byes into the second round. The full player list, subject to change, can be found here.

The tournament recently announced seven of its wild cards, including Venus Williams, who will be making her 23rd appearance at the event. Sloane Stephens, Taylor Townsend, Jennifer Brady and Ashlyn Krueger are among other Americans given a wild card. In addition, teenage up-and-coming players Lilli Tagger and Emerson Jones as well as the 2025 NCAA singles champion Darja Vidmanova also received a wild card entry.

Williams is a three-time winner of the event in 1998, 1999 and 2001, while Stephens took home the title in 2018.

Notable withdrawals: Lois Boisson, Marketa Vondrousova, Karolina Pliskova, Veronika Kudermetova, Barbora Krejcikova, Daria Kasatkina, Yafan Wang

Moved into main draw: Katie Boulter, Anastasia Potapova, Alycia Parks, Yulia Putintseva, Elena-Gabriela Ruse, Julia Grabher, Simona Waltert

Who is the defending champion?

Sabalenka won her eighth-career WTA 1000 title, defeating Pegula 7-5, 6-2 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens to secure her first Miami Open win. The championship marked her then-19th title of her current 22 on the WTA Tour. To date, she's won 19 titles on hard court.

The win marked a mini-milestone for Sabalenka, who had never won either tournament of the Sunshine Double. The tournament prior, she reached the finals of the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, falling to Mirra Andreeva, and she also reached the final at Indian Wells in 2023.

"Going into this match, I had the mentality that no matter what happens, if she's gonna break me, I had the mentality to stay there, to focus on myself, to fight for every point no matter what," Sabalenka said after the win over Pegula.

"I didn't want to lose another final, to be honest. It's really tough to lose in the final. So if someone would say that, I'd be, like, 'OK, it's going to be a battle, I'm ready for that.'"

In doubles, Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider defeated the duo of Cristina Bucsa and Miyu Kato 6-3, 7-6, [10-2], earning their then-second title as a team.

What are the ranking points and prize money at stake?

Similar to Indian Wells, 1,000 points will be available for both singles and doubles. Below is the prize money in USD and rankings points earned based on how far a player or team advances. A total prize pool of $9,415,725 will be available at the Miami Open.