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The Miami Open kicks off this week, and tennis fans across the world will be treated to some exciting fixtures over the next 13 days. This will be the third WTA 1000 event of the year, after the Dubai and Indian Wells Opens. You’re probably wondering who the favourites are, but not to worry, we’ve got you covered. In addition to the Miami Open women’s predictions, we will talk about the bookies’ favourites, as well as non-favourites we feel have a shot at the title.

Outright Predictions For Miami Open 2023

Although she failed to defend her Indian Wells title, we believe that Iga Swiatek will emerge victorious at the end of this tournament. Despite her semi-final exit at the just-concluded BNP Paribas Open, the current World number 1 has been the most dominant player on the WTA Tour over the past year. It’s important to point out that Swiatek won the Miami Open title last year without dropping a single set. Given how players like Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina have been playing this year, there are a fair few players that’ll give the three-time grand slam champion a run for her money. In spite of this, Iga Swiatek should be able to defend her title successfully.

Miami Open 2023 Predictions, Day 1

We’ve been through the qualifying rounds of this tournament, and our main draw is set. Interestingly, like the BNP Paribas Open, the 32 seeded players in this tournament will not play in the first round. That said, these are some of the fixtures scheduled for day 1:

Elise Mertens vs Alycia Parks

To be fair, Alycia Parks did win the title at Lyon last month. However, barring that solid run, she has mostly struggled this year. As a matter of fact, Parks is coming into this tournament on the back of three consecutive losses. On the other hand, Elise Mertens is more experienced than her American opponent, and we believe she’ll take this in straight sets.

Camila Giorgi vs Kaia Kanepi

We haven’t been impressed by Kaia Kanepi’s performance since the start of the season. The Estonian hasn’t gotten past the second round of any tournament she played in 2023. In fact, Kanepi exited her previous three WTA events in the first round, and is coming off four straight losses. Bearing in mind that Kanepi lost two of two encounters with Camila Giorgi, we are backing the Italian to advance to the second round.

Brenda Fruhvirtova vs Xiyu Wang

To be fair, Brenda Fruhvirtova is 15 years old. However, despite her age, she survived three qualifying rounds of the Australian Open, making it to the main draw. Furthermore, the Czech player is coming into this tournament with a lot of confidence, as she won the ITF event at Bengaluru this month. In contrast, Xiyu Wang has struggled since October last year. She suffered eight losses in 10 singles matches played since then. On that note, we believe that Fruhvirtova will come out on top at the end of this match.

WTA Miami Open Favourites

These players are favoured to win the Miami Open title ahead of everybody else:

Iga Swiatek

Undoubtedly, Iga Swiatek has been the best player on the WTA Tour over the past year, so it’s no surprise that she’s the favourite. For one, the 21 year old is the current holder of two of the four grand slam titles; having won the Roland Garros and US Open events last year. Furthermore, at some point last year, Swiatek was on a 37 match winning streak; where she won six titles in a row, including this tournament. It’s also fair to point out that Iga Swiatek reached at least the semi-final in the last three tournaments she participated in, with two final appearances and one title. That said, Swiatek is valued at 12/5 (3.40) to win the Miami Open title.

Aryna Sabalenka

Next on our list is one of the hardest hitters on tour. Despite her loss at the Indian Wells Open final, Aryna Sabalenka has had arguably the best run since the start of the year. She appeared in three finals so far, winning two of them; no player has won more titles, or reached as many finals as Sabalenka in 2023. At some point last month, the Belarusian had a 13 match winning streak, with back-to-back titles, including the Australian Open. She has lost just two of 19 singles matches played this year. Ahead of this tournament, Aryna Sabalenka can be backed at 5/1 (6.00)

Elena Rybakina

Elena Rybakina is coming off her best performance of the year, as she won the BNP Paribas Open title whilst dropping just one set. Interestingly, she defeated Swiatek and Sabalenka in straight sets, en route to the title. It’s also worth mentioning that Rybakina reached the final of two tournaments this year, winning one of them. Interestingly, the Kazakhstani is priced at 13/2 (7.5) to win this competition.

WTA Miami Open Long Shots

Despite not being among the favourites, we believe that these players can go all the way:

Maria Sakkari

Maria Sakkari is coming off a semi-final outing at the just-concluded Indian Wells Open; she had reached the final of the previous edition of that competition. Although she hasn’t won a title this year, the Greek player reached the semi-final in three of the last four tournaments she participated in. It’s also worth mentioning that Sakkari was a semi-finalist at the Miami Open two years ago; and considering how she played at Indian Wells, we believe she has what it takes to win the title. At 22/1 (23.00), the Greek player should be worth a punt.

Belinda Bencic

We would like to point out that Belinda Bencic had an impressive run here in Miami last year; as she advanced to the semi-final, losing out to Naomi Osaka. It’s important to point out that the Swiss player has two WTA 500 titles to her name this year. She’s tied with Aryna Sabalenka for most titles in 2023. Bearing that in mind, Belinda Bencic is valued at 25/1 (26.00) to win her third title of the year.

Barbora Krejcikova

At 10/1 (11.00), another player to keep an eye out for is Barbora Krejcikova. The former French Open champion has had a good year so far, in both singles and doubles. In addition to the Australian Open and Indian Wells doubles titles, Krejcikova has a WTA 1000 singles title this year, when she won the Dubai Open last month. Interestingly, she defeated some of this tournament’s favourites en route to the title.

Frequently Asked Questions About Miami Open 2023

• Are there any ranking points for this tournament? Yes, the winner of this event will receive 1000 WTA ranking points.
• Who won the Miami Open title last year? Iga Swiatek is the defending champion of this competition.
• How many players are seeded ahead of this competition? There are 32 seeds at this year’s Miami Open.
• Who is the favourite to win this event? Defending champion Iga Swiatek is favoured over every other player.