Venus Williams, Stephens, Tagger get Miami Open wild cards

Venus Williams will make her 23rd appearance at the Miami Open next week.

The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion has been awarded a wild card into the final tournament of the Sunshine swing.

Williams, 45, is a three-time champion at this tournament, winning back-to-back titles in 1998 and 1999 and then again in 2001. 

Williams made her Miami Open debut in 1997, and this will be her 23rd appearance at the WTA 1000 tournament. She last appeared two years ago, losing to Diana Shnaider in the first round.

The former World No. 1 returned to the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz last season in Washington, D.C., but has yet to win a match in 2026.

A wild card was also granted to former US Open champion Sloane Stephens, who won the Miami Open back in 2018.

The other six wild cards were given to 21-year-old Ashlyn Krueger, recent Austin finalist Taylor Townsend, 2025 French Open girls' champion Lilli Tagger, former Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady, 2025 NCAA singles champion Darja Vidmanova and former junior No. 1 Emerson Jones.

Krueger reached the Round of 16 in Miami Gardens last year after upsetting Elena Rybakina -- the first Top 10 win of her career -- and Leylah Fernandez. 

Townsend has come through qualifying each of the last two years to reach the third round, picking up impressive wins over Elise Mertens and Yulia Putintseva.

Brady, who returned to the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz this year after not playing since 2023, will be making her fifth Miami Open appearance, though she's never won a match at the tournament. (She'll also be co-hosting a live performance of her podcast, The Player's Box, on March 15 on the tournament grounds.)

First-round action in Miami Gardens kicks off on Tuesday, March 17, and the tournament will run through Sunday, March 29.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is the defending champion.