World No. 4 tennis star Coco Gauff dug deep to reach the Miami Open semifinals for the first time, overcoming a break point in the deciding third set to take down No. 12 Belinda Bencic 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old is now the youngest US player to reach the Miami tournament's semis since Serena Williams's 2004 run, with Gauff looking to right what's been an up-and-down start to the year when she faces Czechia's No. 14 Karolína Muchová on Thursday.

"It just feels like I shouldn't be where I am," Gauff said postmatch. "But tennis doesn't lie, the ball doesn't lie, so I just have to believe myself."

Notably, Thursday's semifinals could impact the sport's live WTA rankings, giving Gauff a chance to leapfrog No. 3 Iga Świątek following the Polish star's historic first-round upset loss.

Should Gauff succeed, it will mark the second downward shift for Świątek during the Sunshine Double, after Elena Rybakina took over her previous No. 2 ranking during the Indian Wells Open.

With her new career-highest rank in tow, Rybakina will enter a Top-2 clash with No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Miami Open's other semifinal, with the pair most recently facing off in three tournament finals: Rybakina topped Sabalenka to win November's 2025 WTA Finals and January's 2026 Australian Open before Sabalenka avenged the losses by downing the Kazakh star in the Indian Wells championship match.

How to watch the 2026 Miami Open semifinals

No. 4 Gauff and No. 14 Muchová will kick off Thursday's Miami Open semis at 3 PM ET, with No. 1 Sabalenka facing No. 2 Rybakina at 8:30 PM ET.

Live coverage of both semifinals will air on the Tennis Channel.

Magda Linette stunned Iga Swiatek with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 comeback victory on Thursday night at the 2026 Miami Open, ending the longest opening-round winning streak in women's tennis history.

50th-ranked Linette defeated the world No. 2 and former Miami Open champion, snapping Swiatek's 73-match opening-round winning streak that dated back to the 2021 WTA Finals.

Swiatek dominated the first set, breaking her fellow Polish player twice and winning 88% of her first-serve points. But Linette fought back in the second set, breaking at a critical moment and holding serve behind four aces to level the match.

Linette jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the third set, before Swiatek saved two match points and held for 5-3. But Linette closed out the upset on her fourth match point in the ninth game.

"I stopped doing anything well tactically," Swiatek said postmatch. "It was a bad match for me in the second and third sets. I haven't felt things like that for like five years."

Linette overcame 30 unforced errors to pull off the upset, becoming just the second player to beat Iga Swiatek at a WTA 1000 tournament after dropping the first set. Maria Sakkari accomplished the same feat earlier this season in Doha.

The victory marked Linette's second straight three-set win, after also coming back from a set down in her first-round match against Varvara Gracheva.

Linette will next face young phenom Alexandra Eala in the Miami Open's third round, after Eala defeated Laura Siegemund in three tough sets on Thursday. Linette has won two of her three career matches against Eala, though Eala won their most recent meeting in Auckland.

The 2026 Miami Open starts third-round play on Saturday, live on The Tennis Channel.

The second half of the annual Sunshine Double kicks off this week, as top tennis stars land in Florida for the 2026 Miami Open — the final WTA 1000 hardcourt event before the Tour turns to clay.

Reigning Miami Open champion No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka enters the field fresh off her Sunday Indian Wells win, while underdogs like No. 29 Alexandra Eala, No. 18 Madison Keys, and No. 15 Naomi Osaka look to keep things interesting.

Rising Filipina star Eala is hunting another breakout run, after the then-No. 140 player upset No. 3 Iga Świątek to soar into last year's Miami Open semifinals — while six-time Grand Slam winner Świątek also returns to the field this week.

The seeded draw gets underway on Thursday, though plenty of big names pack the tournament's early action — including Wednesday's all-US first-round heater between Jen Brady and former US Open champion Sloane Stephens.

US tennis legend Venus Williams will also feature on Wednesday's Round of 128 court, as the seemingly ageless icon will again seek her first singles win of 2026 when she takes on England's Francesca Jones.

"I have amazing fans that believe in me, and it's fun to play for them," Williams said last week. "It's very thrilling."

How to watch the 2026 Miami Open

While qualifiers continue on Tuesday's Miami Open courts, the 2026 tournament's main draw will kick off with Tuesday's Round of 128 before seeded players enter the fray in the Round of 64 on Thursday.

Live coverage of the tournament airs on the Tennis Channel.

World No. 1 tennis star Aryna Sabalenka is riding high, as the top-ranked WTA star earned her first-ever Indian Wells title with a three-set win over No. 3 Elena Rybakina in Sunday's 2026 BNP Paribas Open final.

With temperatures venturing into the 90s, Sabalenka took the reigning Australian Open champion down 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6), avenging both her January loss to Rybakina in Melbourne as well as last year's Indian Wells finale exit.

"I think the whole idea going into this match was to be mentally strong, to stay strong no matter what, to show with the body language that I'm here, I'm fighting," Sabalenka said postmatch. "I'm happy that it really worked."

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The 27-year-old now has half of this year's Sunshine Double in the bag, as she gears up to compete in the 2026 Miami Open later this week.

"I'm defending champion there, so I have to bring my best tennis there," said Sabalenka before departing California for Florida. "But with these vibes that I'm taking from here, I think I'll be able to be there and to fight and to do my very best to defend that beautiful trophy."

How to watch Aryna Sabalenka in the 2026 Miami Open

The 2026 Miami Open kicks off with the Round of 128 on Tuesday, which will determine Sabalenka's first opponent when the defending champion enters the competition in the Round of 64.

Live coverage of the tournament will air on the Tennis Channel.

Australian qualifier Talia Gibson surged into the tennis world's Top 100 for the first time after last week's surprising Indian Wells run, rising 44 places from No. 112 to No. 68 in Monday's WTA rankings.

The 21-year-old reached her first tour-level quarterfinal at the WTA 1000 event, after entering the main draw as a qualifier. Gibson had previously won just three tour-level matches in her career and had never defeated an opponent ranked inside the Top 60.

Gibson opened her breakthrough 2026 BNP Paribas Open campaign by defeating Ann Li for her first career Top 50 victory. She later scored Top 20 wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova and Clara Tauson before stunning No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini in the California tournament's fourth round — her first Top 10 triumph.

Indian Wells marked Gibson's 12th WTA main draw and her fourth without wild card entry, having not advanced past the second round of a WTA Tour event before last week.

In this week's update, Elena Rybakina climbed to a career-high No. 2 ranking after reaching the Indian Wells final, where the Kazakh fell to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a dramatic championship match. Capturing her first Indian Wells title on Sunday, Sabalenka subsequently maintained her top ranking.

Rybakina's rise marks her first appearance at No. 2 after dropping to No. 13 last July. Sunday's defeat snapped the 2026 Australian Open champion's 13-match winning streak — including 12 consecutive Top 10 wins.

Filipina fan favorite Alexandra Eala and Cristina Bucsa both cracked the Top 30 for the first time, after now-No. 29 Eala advanced to the fourth round at Indian Wells while No. 30 Bucsa reached the tournament's second round.

Indian Wells semifinalist Elina Svitolina moved up to No. 8.

What's next for world No. 68 Talia Gibson?

Gibson is continuing her Sunshine Double swing at this week's 2026 Miami Open, ousting Ekaterine Gorgodze in straight sets on Monday to open her qualifying campaign.

US tennis icon Venus Williams is back in action, returning to the hard court to feature in both the singles and doubles competition at the 2025 DC Open this week.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion will face off against fellow US player and world No. 35 Peyton Stearns in their tournament opener on Tuesday — the unranked 45-year-old's first official competitive match since exiting the 2024 Miami Open in the first round some 16 months ago.

"Why not?" Williams said of her DC Open wild card berth. "I love the game. And the hard courts, it's my favorite surface, what I feel comfortable on."

"My personal goal is to have fun I think right now and enjoy the moment, not put too much pressure on myself," she added.

As one top talent hops back into the spotlight, however, another is stepping out of it, as two-time Wimbledon finalist and current world No. 72 Ons Jabeur announced last Thursday that she's taking an indefinite leave from professional tennis.

"For the past two years, I've been pushing myself so hard, fighting through injuries and facing many other challenges," the former world No. 2 wrote in an Instagram post. "But deep down, I haven't truly felt happy on the court for some time now."

"Tennis is such a beautiful sport," the barrier-breaking 30-year-old Tunisian star added. "But right now, I feel it's time to take a step back and finally put myself first: to breathe, to heal, and to rediscover the joy of simply living."

How to watch Venus Williams at the 2025 DC Open

Williams' return to the WTA court begins on Monday, when the legend will pair up with fellow US player Hailey Baptiste in an opening doubles match against the US's Clervie Ngounoue and Canada's Eugenie Bouchard at 2:30 PM ET.

Her 2025 DC Open singles campaign kicks off against Stearns at 10 AM ET on Tuesday.

Live coverage of all tournament matches will air on the Tennis Channel.

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.

UK tennis star Emma Raducanu celebrates a win at the 2025 Miami Open.
Emma Raducanu has defeated three US stars so far at the 2025 Miami Open. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)

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.

Alexandra Eala of the Philippines celebrates her defeat of No. 5 Madison Keys at the 2025 Miami Open.
19-year-old Alexandra Eala is one of three unseeded Miami Open quarterfinalists. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)

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.

Iga Swiatek continued her stunning run Saturday, defeating Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-0 to clinch the Miami Open title.

With the win, Swiatek becomes the fourth woman in history to claim the “Sunshine Double,” reserved for the players who win at Indian Wells and Miami in the same season. At 20 years old, Swiatek is the youngest player to achieve the feat, joining a group that includes Stefanie Graf, Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka.

Swiatek has now won three consecutive titles, including her win at Doha in February. Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki are the only other players to win three or more straight WTA 1000 titles in a single season.

Defeating Osaka in one hour and 17 minutes, Swiatek won 73 percent of her first-service points while cutting down on unforced errors to maintain the lead. After a back-and-forth first set, the Polish star blanked Osaka in the second.

With the win, Swiatek extended her winning streak to 17 matches and is set to become the world No. 1 for the first time in her career on Monday.

Naomi Osaka mounted a comeback victory over No. 22 Belinda Bencic on Thursday, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, to reach the Miami Open final. It’s her first championship final since the former world No. 1 won the Australian Open in 2021.

It’s also Osaka’s fourth career WTA 1000 final and her first in over a year.

“In the second set I just told myself, ‘Listen, if she beats you, someone is going to have to carry you off the court in a stretcher, because you’re going to fight for everything,'” Osaka said. “I think I just got opportunities and I was able to see them as opportunities. So I was able to push myself through it.

“I’m honestly glad that this was such a tough match, because I feel like you need that learning experience, and I learned a lot from today.”

On Twitter, she said that she’s “just so grateful right now.”

“Cheers to the ups and downs of life for making me appreciate this moment even more,” she wrote.

Osaka fired off 18 aces in the win, the most of any player on Tour so far this season.

After dropping the first set, Osaka began to find her groove, firing off 16 winners compared to just seven unforced errors in the second set. In the third, she forced a break to go up 3-2 and didn’t look back, taking the set 6-4.

With a current world ranking of No. 77, Osaka becomes the lowest-ranked Miami Open finalist, breaking a record previously held by Kim Clijsters, who won the title in 2005 while ranked at No. 38 in the world.

Osaka, who is projected to rise up to No. 36 in next week’s rankings, could return to the Top 30 with the title. She’ll go up against projected world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who has won 16 straight matches.

Swiatek took care of No. 16 Jessica Pegula on Thursday in a straight-set win, 6-2, 7-5.

Iga Swiatek is on a tear, notching her 15th straight win to advance to the Miami Open semifinals.

The world No. 2 defeated No. 28 seed Petra Kvitova, 6-3, 6-3, in the Miami Open quarterfinals Wednesday to reach her fifth semifinal of the season.

Coming off back-to-back titles in Doha and Indian Wells, Swiatek has dominated the competition in Miami, dropping just 15 games in four matches.

The Polish star will next face off against No. 16 seed Jessica Pegula in the semifinals on Thursday, with the American moving on after Paula Badosa retired from their quarterfinal.

Swiatek will look for her first win over Pegula, who holds a 1-0 record over the soon-to-be world No. 1, beating Swiatek in 2019.

Should the 20-year-old win on Thursday, she will become only the ninth player in history to reach the Indian Wells and Miami Open finals in the same season.

Naomi Osaka and Belinda Bencic will headline the other semifinal in Miami, with Bencic holding a 3-1 head-to-head record against Osaka.

The 24-year-old star, however, is in top form in Miami, with Osaka yet to drop a set. Bencic will present a unique challenge to Osaka, with the world No. 22 able to absorb power and counter the 2021 Australian Open winner.

Semifinal coverage from the Miami Open will begin on Thursday at 1 p.m. ET on the Tennis Channel.