After early exits from the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, US standouts continued to struggle this week, failing to advance past the Round of 16 at the Miami Open.
After ending the dream of a single Sunshine Double winner by outlasting Indian Wells champion No. 6 Mirra Andreeva in Sunday's three-set Round of 32 battle, US contender No. 17 Amanda Anisimova fell to the UK's unseeded Emma Raducanu in straight sets on Monday.
The Round of 16 action also saw world No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka knock out US stalwart No. 14-seed Danielle Collins in two sets — a fate similarly suffered by No. 3-ranked Coco Gauff, who fell to Poland's unseeded Magda Linette by the exact same 6-4, 6-4 scoreline.
"It wasn’t great today," Gauff told reporters after the match. "It hasn’t been the last few weeks — I’m trying to figure that out. Definitely not happy about it."
The 21-year-old star is in the midst of a particularly frustrating 2025 run, having yet to advance past the quarterfinals of any competition since winning the 2024 WTA Finals.
"It's just a series of not having great results and feeling confident on the court," she said of her current struggles.
The lone US player still on Miami's court is world No. 4 Jessica Pegula, who easily ousted Ukraine's No. 23-seed Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-3 on Monday.
Unseeded players shine at 2025 Miami Open
Though five of the WTA's Top 9 players — from Sabalenka to her next opponent, China's No. 9 Qinwen Zheng — advanced to this week's Miami Open quarterfinals, a trio of unseeded athletes are also making deep runs in Florida.
The aforementioned Raducanu is displaying the same tenacity that helped her win the 2021 US Open at just 18 years old, dispatching a trio of US players in No. 8-seed Emma Navarro, unseeded McCartney Kessler, and Anisimova to claim a Wednesday quarterfinal date with US star Pegula.
Also causing chaos in Miami is unseeded 19-year-old Filipino pro Alexandra Eala, who rolled over 2025 Australian Open champion and world No. 5 Madison Keys on Sunday, ultimately earning a shot at No. 2 Iga Świątek on Wednesday.
But first, Gauff's unseeded conquerer Linette will kick off the tournament's quarterfinals by facing No. 6-seed Jasmine Paolini.
The Italian star already ushered Japan icon Naomi Osaka out of the competition in Monday's three-set Round of 16 battle, and will take aim at Linette's similarly impressive unseeded run on Tuesday.
How to watch the 2025 Miami Open quarterfinals
The 2025 Miami Open quarterfinals will kick off on Tuesday, when Magda Linette will face No. 6 Jasmine Paolini at 3:20 PM ET, before No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka takes on No. 9 Qinwen Zheng at 7 PM ET.
The remaining two quarterfinals will take Wednesday's court, with the timing for Emma Raducanu vs. No. 4 Jessica Pegula and Alexandra Eala vs. No. 2 Iga Świątek yet to be determined.
All 2025 Miami Open matches will be covered live on the Tennis Channel.
Newly minted Australian Open champion Madison Keys added the highest WTA rankings of her career to her resume on Monday, rising to No. 5 despite withdrawing from last week’s Dubai Open with a leg injury.
The first-time Grand Slam winner joins fellow US standouts No. 3 Coco Gauff and No. 4 Jessica Pegula in the Top 5 WTA rankings, marking the first time three US women have featured in that elite echelon since Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, and Jennifer Capriati did so in 2003.
While Emma Navarro slid in at No. 10 to give the US four of the Top 10 WTA rankings, a breakthrough title-winning run at the 2025 Dubai Open launched Mirra Andreeva into the upper tier. The 17-year-old jumped five spots to claim No. 9 and become the youngest Top 10-ranked WTA player since 2007.
The sport's top two players held steady in Monday's shakeup, with No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Iga Świątek keeping their ground.
That said, with the WTA Tour returning Stateside next week, expect more rankings movement — and perhaps a few surprise entries — as players continue to prep for the three Grand Slams remaining in the 2025 season.
Former WTA No. 1 Venus Williams will not play at Indian Wells
Contrary to last week’s widespread reports, tennis legend Venus Williams — who first rose to No. 1 in the WTA rankings 23 years ago this week — said she will not be participating in next month's 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
"I love Indian Wells, I would love to be there," the 44-year-old US icon told the crowd during a public appearance in Denmark on Monday. "If I could have accepted it, I would have loved to be there, but I already made commitments."
"We wish Venus all the best and hope to see her back in Indian Wells in the future," said tournament director Tommy Haas in response, reversing the Open’s earlier social media announcement of Williams' wild card berth.
World No. 3 Coco Gauff exited the 2025 Australian Open on Monday night, falling 7-5, 6-4 to Spain's No. 11 Paula Badosa in the Grand Slam's quarterfinal round.
Gauff's recent improvements seemed to fade in her first loss of the year, which saw the 2025 United Cup champ record 41 unforced errors, including 28 missed forehands and six double-faults.
As a result, Badosa advances to her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal, a marked comeback after a 2023 injury nearly ended her career.
"I would never think that, a year after, I would be here," Badosa said post-match. "I've been through a lot."
Sabalenka looms after quarterfinal victory
Badosa moves on to face back-to-back defending champion Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday, as the world No. 1 sets her sights on becoming the first three-peat Australian Open women's champ this century.
Sabalenka advanced past No. 27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in an early Tuesday morning quarterfinal to reach her 10th major semifinal in her last 11 Grand Slams.
The 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory didn't come easily, though, as Pavlyuchenkova managed to snap the 26-year-old's 25-set Australian Open winning streak which dates back to her 2023 final win.
"I’m really glad that at some point I was able to put myself back together," said Sabalenka about the tough match. "I was able to keep fighting, keep trying, and I was able to turn around this match. It was a really difficult one."
US players to close out Australian Open quarterfinals
The Melbourne Slam's remaining two quarterfinals each place a US tennis star in the spotlight on Tuesday.
Fresh off ousting No. 10 Danielle Collins and No. 6 Elena Rybakina in the third and fourth rounds, No. 19 Madison Keys will square off against No. 28 Elina Svitolina for a shot at the semis. This will be Keys's first match against the Ukrainian since taking a two-set victory over Svitolina in Adelaide in January 2022.
The nightcap pits three-set specialist No. 8 Emma Navarro against perennial contender No. 2 Iga Świątek, marking the second-ever meeting — and first since 2018 — between the 23-year-olds.
The Polish phenom has yet to drop a set all tournament, and has seemed near-unbeatable after losing just four games across her last three matches. That said, Navarro has proved she just won't quit, leading the WTA in three-set contests over the last year — and gritting out a 24-9 record in the same span. Consequently, the longer Tuesday's match runs, the more it will likely favor the US star.
How to watch the 2025 Australian Open this week
No. 19 Madison Keys will clash with No. 28 Elina Svitolina starting at 7:30 PM ET on Tuesday, with No. 8 Emma Navarro's bout against No. 2 Iga Świątek beginning at 9 PM ET.
Both Tuesday quarterfinals will be broadcast live across ESPN’s platforms.
In her first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal victory, No. 6-seed Jessica Pegula knocked No. 1 Iga Świątek out of the 2024 US Open in straight sets Wednesday night.
Now in uncharted territory, the US tennis star will aim at extending her historic run in tonight's semifinal against unseeded Czech opponent, Karolina Muchová.
Quarterfinal victory proved Pegula's dominance
The 30-year-old Pegula, who has yet to drop a set all tournament, took control of yesterday's match immediately, winning the first game on Świątek's serve — the five-time Grand Slam winner's first broken serve in 26 games.
Świątek, the 2022 US Open champion, committed 18 unforced errors in the first set. Visibly frustrated with her performance, the Polish phenom retreated to the locker room to regroup — a move that ultimately proved unsuccessful in the wake of Pegula's relentless 6-2, 6-4 victory.
After six previous Grand Slam quarterfinal attempts, Pegula celebrated, telling the crowd post-match that "there have been so many freaking times, and I just kept losing.... So thank God I was able to do it. And finally — finally! — I can say, 'Semifinalist.'"
Two US contenders will feature in tonight's semis
Pegula isn't the only contender making her Grand Slam semifinal debut tonight. Before Pegula takes the court, fellow US player No. 13 Emma Navarro will take on reigning back-to-back Australian Open champion No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka, who fell to US star Coco Gauff in last year's US Open, hopes for better luck against Navarro — the player who ousted the No. 3 defending champ last weekend.
If both Pegula and Navarro emerge victorious, Saturday's US Open final would be the first contested by two US athletes since Sloane Stephens defeated Madison Keys for the 2017 title. It would also pit two New York locals against each other on their home Grand Slam court: Pegula hails from Buffalo, NY, while Navarro was born in NYC.
How to watch the 2024 US Open semifinals
Navarro and Sabalenka will kick off tonight's Grand Slam action at 7 PM ET, with Pegula's match against Muchová immediately following. Both semis will air on ESPN.