Miami WTA Predictions: Back-to-Back Champion?

The WTA Tour rolls straight from California to Florida this week, with the women’s Miami Open getting underway on Tuesday and running through to next Sunday. I tipped the finalists and champion correctly for the first half of the Sunshine Double, so read on as I breakdown the favorites this week and give my WTA Miami Open predictions and betting tips.

Here’s who I see having the best shot at the women’s Miami title in 2026:

• Aryna Sabalenka
• Jessica Pegula
• Coco Gauff

I’m also keeping an eye on the following players, who are certainly capable of making a deep run in Florida too: 

• Elena Rybakina
• Iga Swiatek
• Elina Svitolina
• Victoria Mboko

With Sabalenka and Rybakina having contested both the Australian Open and Indian Wells finals already this year, I find myself wanting to pick against them heading into Miami. Surely their impressive form can’t continue for yet another event?

For Rybakina, I can get there. Losing from championship point up will have been a bitter pill to swallow for the Kazakh, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she takes an early loss in Miami. She’s got either Iva Jovic or Naomi Osaka looming in the round of 16, either of whom could easily trip her up. Survive, and I expect Pegula will get the better of her in the quarters.

Pegula has a strong record in Miami, and made it as far as the final last year. While she doesn’t have the high-profile results of some others this season, the American sits at an impressive 16-3 on the season. I’m tipping her to get out of her quarter, and take Sabalenka on in the semi-finals.

If Sabalenka is to lose this tournament, it’ll have to be early. She’s got every excuse – last week was a big one, with the Belarusian getting engaged, adopting a puppy and winning her maiden Indian Wells title.

Should she navigate her first few matches, I expect the confidence she gained from her performance against Rybakina will be hard to stop. Unfortunately for the rest of the field, I can’t see her getting tipped up in either of her first two matches, so I’m backing her to get through this half of the draw.

In the lower part of the women’s Miami Open draw, things are a lot more open. Swiatek is the high seed, while Gauff, Andreeva and Mboko are lurking.

The latter two are on track to meet in a blockbuster round-of-16 clash, with the winner potentially facing Swiatek in the quarters. Gauff, meanwhile, has a comfortable quarter which she should navigate easily for her best-ever Miami run.

Bottom line, I have Gauff taking on Sabalenka in the final, with Sabalenka defending her title and completing the rare Sunshine Double. She’s simply too consistent and professional to let her guard down, and with the confidence she gained in Indian Wells, looks nigh-on unstoppable.

Fancy getting some skin in the game? These are the bets I’m personally making on the women’s Miami Open this week:

Check out some of our top betting sites for the latest odds – but be quick, as these markets will shift once play begins this week.