The opening round of the WTA 1000 Miami Open is complete. As in Indian Wells, the first two days of action focused on non-seeded players, with the top 32 seeds entering the competition on Thursday after receiving a first-round bye. Despite this, several well-known names had an opportunity to play, and a few of them failed to progress further.

Bencic Survives the Opening Challenge

Belinda Bencic is a dangerous opponent in any draw, still underrated after just a couple of months back following her maternity break. The current world No. 45, ranked 10th in the WTA Race, faced Dayana Yastremska in one of the most anticipated first-round clashes. Bencic has displayed strong form this year but suffered a tough quarterfinal loss to Madison Keys in Indian Wells last week. She entered as the favorite against Yastremska, but the match proved challenging, especially from the second set onward.

After winning the opening set, Bencic lost five consecutive games in the second, allowing Yastremska to dominate 6-1. However, the Ukrainian struggled to close out the set despite needing eight set points. The third set was scrappy, with both players struggling on serve. Yastremska had a golden opportunity to secure the win while serving at 5-4 but faltered. Despite seemingly controlling the match, she collapsed in the closing moments, losing two crucial service games. A double fault on match point encapsulated her late struggles, allowing Bencic to stage a comeback from 3-5 down and secure a 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 victory after 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Bencic’s path does not get any easier. She now faces another Indian Wells quarterfinalist, 22nd seed Elina Svitolina, in what promises to be a fascinating second-round encounter. It remains to be seen whether Bencic’s form will stabilize or show further inconsistency.

Round of Comebacks

Bencic’s comeback was not the only thrilling turnaround in the first round. Kimberly Birrell secured one of the biggest wins of her career, upsetting Anastasia Potapova. The Australian failed to qualify for the main draw but entered as a lucky loser and took full advantage of the opportunity. Potapova, who has had a solid season, including a WTA 250 title in Cluj, led 5-3 in the final set and served for the match. However, Birrell saved a match point and forced a tiebreak, eventually sealing a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory.

Alycia Parks also pulled off a dramatic comeback. The American was down 3-6, 2-5 against Varvara Gracheva, who held match points but failed to close it out. Parks capitalized on the Frenchwoman’s collapse, storming through a second-set tiebreak 7-0 and dominating the final set for a 3-6, 7-6(0), 6-3 win.

Kenin comes on top of champions clash

Sofia Kenin and Petra Kvitova was surely the most decorated pairing of first round. The Czech comes back to competition after maternity break, getting wild card into third of American hard courts event, following WTA 250 in Austin and Indian Wells. All those matches did not bring any success for the 35 years-old champion of Miami Open from 2023 yet. After close three-setters against Jodie Burrage in Austin and Varvara Gracheva in Indian Wells, this time Kvitova got defeated by the 2020 Australian Open champ. Kenin won by 6-4 7-5 and sets up an exciting clash against Coco Gauff in second round, which will feature the centre court action on Thursday.

Sherif’s Breakthrough on Hard Courts

Mayar Sherif is well known for her clay-court prowess but has struggled to translate her success to other surfaces. The Egyptian maintains her top-100 ranking primarily through strong performances in WTA 125 clay events. Before Miami, she had amassed a 36-15 clay-court record in the current ranking period but had not won a single hard-court match in her last nine tournaments.

Her struggles extended into 2025, where she was on a seven-match losing streak and had won just one competitive set all season. That changed in Miami, where she fought past Lulu Sun in a grueling three-setter, winning 7-5, 1-6, 6-4. However, she faces a daunting challenge in the next round against Amanda Anisimova, who will be the clear favorite.

Eala Earns Her Maiden WTA 1000 Victory

Alexandra Eala is one of the most promising young Asian players. The 19-year-old from the Philippines has hovered around the top 150, thanks to strong performances in Challengers and ITF events. The Miami Open marks a milestone in her career, as she secured her first-ever WTA 1000 victory, defeating Katie Volynets 6-3, 7-6(3).

Although Eala was not a massive underdog, her pre-match odds of 3.53 were the highest among first-round upsets. She now faces Jelena Ostapenko, a notoriously inconsistent player. If Eala can capitalize on any erratic play from the Latvian, she might pull off an even bigger upset.

Boulter and Pavlyuchenkova Crash Out

The two most notable early exits came from Katie Boulter and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Boulter, currently the highest-ranked British player, lost to Peyton Stearns 4-6, 2-6. Despite her rise in popularity, Boulter has struggled in 2024, securing only one top-50 victory since August. With significant ranking points to defend from June onwards and known weaknesses on clay, the coming months could be crucial for her maintaining a top-tier WTA position.

Pavlyuchenkova, meanwhile, started the season well, reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals. However, her momentum was halted by an injury sustained against Magda Linette in Abu Dhabi in early February. After struggling in Dubai, she took a break from competition before returning in Miami, only to face Linette again. The Russian created 10 break-point opportunities (six in one game alone) but converted just one. Linette, by contrast, was highly efficient, converting two of three break points and winning in straight sets, 7-6(3), 6-2. The Pole now meets Ekaterina Alexandrova in the second round.