2026 Miami Open Tennis Preview: Everything You Need To Know

Part two of the Sunshine Double is here as both the ATP and the WTA Tours head to sunny Miami Gardens, Florida for the 2026 Miami Open! This is the second part of a back-to-back jointed WTA and ATP 1000 level event, in what is a most chaotic environment in South Beach.

Let’s break down everything you need to know about the Miami Open with odds, location information, player form and bracket analysis.

2026 Miami Open Information & Resources

• Start Date: Tue., Mar. 17
• Location: Miami Gardens, Florida, USA
• Surface: Outdoor Hard
• Event Level: 1000
• Network: Tennis Channel
• Defending Champion, ATP: Mensik def. Djokovic
• Defending Champion, WTA: Sabalenka def. Pegula
• Daily Tennis Betting Trends

2026 Miami Open Odds: The Favorites

Odds listed are provided by DraftKings Sportsbook.

2026 ATP Miami Open Winner Odds

• Jannik Sinner +120
• Carlos Alcaraz +150
• Daniil Medvedev +1500
• Alexander Zverev +2500
• Ben Shelton +3000
• Jack Draper +3500
• Taylor Fritz +4000
• Felix Auger Aliassime +4000
• Alex De Minaur +4000

Men’s Picks: Jannik Sinner +120, Carlos Alcaraz +150

2026 WTA Miami Open Winner Odds

• Aryna Sabalenka +250
• Elena Rybakina +600
• Iga Swiatek +700
• Jessica Pegula +1000
• Coco Gauff +1200
• Amanda Anisimova +1200
• Victoria Mboko +1400
• Mirra Andreeva +2000
• Elina Svitolina +2200
• Karolina Muchova +2200

Women’s Picks: Aryna Sabalenka +250, Elena Rybakina +600, Jessica Pegula +1000, Victoria Mboko +1400

Breakdown of the Field

Jannik Sinner reclaimed his ATP throne at Indian Wells this past week, winning a hard-fought two set match against Daniil Medvedev with both sets going into tiebreakers. The question for Sinner becomes fatigue, as winning the Sunshine Double (both Indian Wells and Miami) is a rare tennis achievement that was last obtained by Novak Djokovic in 2016. This might provide Carlos Alacaraz an opportunity to capitalize on, but Sinner thrives in Miami with a Final appearance in three of five years.

Defending champion Jakub Mensik is +8000 to win, but the last back-to-back Miami Open champion was Djokovic in 2015-2016. Medvedev’s stamina might be a factor here too, going the distance in California but he does have a Miami Open title that he defeated Sinner for in 2023. It’s difficult to see an ATP winner outside the top three favorites here.

For the women, winning the Sunshine Double also begs the question of stamina and endurance for one Aryna Sabalenka – coming off an Indian Wells trophy. The same could be said for Indian Wells runner-up Elena Rybakina, who typically thrives in Miami outside a shocking loss to Ashlyn Krueger last season. Besides that 2025 appearance, Elena reached back-to-back finals in 2023-2024 and seems poised to finish the job this time around should she replicate either of those performances.

There are a lot of hometown favorites on the women’s side, so looking at players such as Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, and Amanda Anisimova might be wise. The big question mark is Iga Swiatek, becoming a much more consistent fade deep in tournament lately. Swiatek is a wonderful look to win at +700, but value outside Sabby or Rybakina should be focused more on the mentioned Americans or players in better form such as Elina Svitolina, Karolina Muchova or perhaps the best value on the board – Victoria Mboko.

Miami Open Forecast & Conditions

This is going to be an interesting schedule, as Florida weather is anything but cooperative. A typical day in Florida sees sunny skies with a guaranteed rain shower that lasts a minimum 15 minutes. So expect delays in many matches, regardless of sunny skies.

The daily forecast indicates that Wednesday’s start date might actually be moved to Thursday, with 90% chance of rain opening day. From Thursday through Tuesday, we’re Gucci. Then the rain comes. Expect a nightmare schedule for this event, with a strong possibility of one or more washouts.

With that said, the rain is expected to hit in consistent days when the tournament is expected to see only a handful of matches on the ATP and WTA side (Sweet 16 or further). So the expected schedule congestion at some point these next two weeks might see late stage matches played on same days. Wager accordingly.

Miami Open Court Information

What makes the Miami Open such a chaotic event is the location, but also the court positions. As mentioned above, the weather will be a factor but Stadium Court is the least effected by weather. Stadium Court is buried deep within Hard Rock Stadium, which is a football field stadium surrounded by large walls and an open roof above.

Winds don’t impact Stadium Court too much, although strong winds that get inside can create a wind funnel, but that’s rare. Light rain typically doesn’t stop action within Stadium Court too, with the open roof negating sprinkle showers. The biggest issue in Stadium Court are the shadows caused by a strong sun, but overall is the desired court to play on. Most importantly, however, is that Stadium Court has the least noise for players to deal with (aside from loud fans, but that’s the Miami Open).

Noise is without a doubt a the biggest factor for the surrounding courts in Miami Gardens, even with super hot temperatures and sporadic rain showers. Let’s start with Grandstand, possibly the worst court to play on. Yes, Grandstand has ample seating to give off big energy vibes, but the location of Grandstand is tough to play on. It’s location is on top of a very busy road that funnels stadium traffic into the parking lots near by.

There are many instances where players are getting ready to serve or hit a ball in play, only for a police car to blare it’s sirens or an angry driver to honk their horns. The players look at the umpires, the umpires shrug their shoulders, and we move. Grandstand is parallel to many numbered courts as well, all of which are on top of the busy roads.

Not only are the numbered courts on top of a busy road, but they’re on top of each other as well. A night session match on Court 1 is so loud that it is actually deafening on Court 2 for players – which both Anna Kalinskaya and Jelena Ostapenko can attest to in their match a few years back.

Butch Buchholz is probably the best court to play on outside of Stadium, positioned away from the loud roads and also separated from other competitive courts (closer to practice courts). Late afternoon-to-evening matches are perfect on Buchholz, but it is a nightmare during the daytime. Not only is the sun a huge factor on Buchholz, but the fans can also be loud with a double-deck roofed food court that overlooks the action.

Also, there’s an F1 race Miami has to be ready to host in May. Believe it or not, building a race track creates noise. So players on Butch Buchholz will hear construction not far behind them during the daytime. Any way you look at it, Stadium is the best court while the others must deal with noise in some shape or form.

A Look At The Draw

Men’s Quarter 1

Alcaraz is at the very top of the bracket, but how far can he go? Despite losing to Medvedev in California last week, he should win this quarter. Joao Fonseca could always catch lightning in a bottle, but Sebastian Korda is the biggest threat to Alcaraz before reaching the quarterfinals. The names below that pair include Karen Khachanov and Luciano Darderi – both of which should fall to Alcaraz or Korda should the latter get the upset win. Of the two, we’d side with Khachanov who plays well in Miami while Darderi’s solid seeding has been earned from the clay courts, respectively.

The section of death lies below, and we always mark one. Taylor Fritz is cut out for his work here, and although he is not free falling, he is struggling to find consistency. He will likely face Denis Shapovalov instantly, while also seeing Jack Draper before reaching the second week. Above the Fritz-Draper section lies Casper Ruud and Jiri Lehecka, not to mention the winner of Ethan Quinn and former Miami Open champion Hubert Hurkacz. It’s likely Carlitos gets the scraps of this gauntlet in the quarterfinals, and takes advantage.

Pick: Carlos Alcaraz -300
Sleeper: Jack Draper +1200

Men’s Quarter 2

The Italian section, looking for better results than their World Baseball Classic semifinal against Venezuela. This should be between Lorenzo Musetti and Flavio Cobolli – although Tommy Paul presents the best chance to reach this quarterfinal that isn’t Italian. Grigor Dimitrov is also still finding his way back into form, which he is far from despite playing well here a few years back. Reaching the quarterfinals from this section should be between the Italian pair or Paul.

In the bottom section of Quarter 2 lies Alex De Minaur, who might see his first true test in Round 3 against a vibrant Arthur Fils. Fils actually presents a great long shot to consider reaching the quarterfinals in this section, while above them is Alexander Bublik. Bublik really has no excuse to not get to the quarterfinals, a clear-cut favorite over the names in his section such as Matteo Berrettini, Mariano Navone and Valentin Vacherot – who is nowhere near his 2025 form.

Pick: Lorenzo Musetti +600
Sleeper: Alexander Bublik +750

Men’s Quarter 3

Both Medvedev and Ben Shelton are the top names in the top section of Quarter 3, the likely candidates to reach the quarterfinals as either is a fine pick to back. The big x-factor in this section is Francisco Cerundolo, which would be a bigger concern if A) this event was on a clay court and B) Medvedev didn’t just have one of his best runs a week ago in Indian Wells. Outside Shelton or Medvedev, though, Cerundolo should be the only other option. Ugo Humbert is another hard court player that can catch fire, and we may have a lefty-showdown between he and Shelton.

The bottom section should see Alexander Zverev reach the quarterfinals, and a much easier path to reach it than Shelton or Medvedev. Zverev plays well in Miami, but he also gets a lot of night session matches – which is the best time of day to play in Miami Gardens. There are a few names in this section that could go on runs such as Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Marin Cilic, but backing any player in this section not named Zverev should only be Learner Tien.

Pick: Alexander Zverev +335
Sleeper: Learner Tien +900

Men’s Quarter 4

Defending champion Mensik lies in the top section of Quarter 4 and could immediately face an in-form Sebastian Baez. Mensik should be fine, but he won’t see an easy match as Frances Tiafoe likely awaits – then it gets tougher with a potential showdown with Felix Auger Aliassime. It’s hard to see anyone besides FAA or Mensik reach the Sweet 16 here, so don’t overthink this section too much as it’s likely one of those two.

Under this section is where Sinner is, so trying to decipher a name outside FAA or Mensik seems pointless. Sinner will likely win the quarter regardless who wins Section 7. Looking at Sinner’s draw, he should easily win Quarter 4. Andrey Rublev is the only one who can slow him down before reaching the Sweet 16.

Pick: Jannik Sinner -400
Sleeper: Jakub Mensik +1400

Women’s Quarter 1

Sabalenka sits at the top of the women’s bracket as the No. 1 seed and No. 1 player in the world, fresh off an epic thriller to claim Indian Wells over Rybakina. It seems she will get the leftover of a potential Qinwen Zheng vs. Madison Keys encounter, and is an easy pick to reach the Sweet 16 and win her section. Keys could absolutely beat Sabalenka, but the current form suggests otherwise along with a tough match against (potentiall) Zheng in Round 3.

Under Sabalenka we have another chalk situation, in which Elina Svitolina sits in a class by herself as the clear-cut favorite in this section. Jasmine Paolini is still finding her top form while both Luidmila Samsonova and Ostapenko have struggled with consistency this season. Hailey Baptiste as a sleeper is the only name outside Svitolina to consider here, but the lack of fire power in Section 2 suggest an easier path for Sabalenka to win Quarter 1. It will come down to fatigue.

Pick: Aryna Sabalenka
Sleeper: Elina Svitolina

Women’s Quarter 2

Rybakina is the top name in Quarter 2, sitting a top Section 3 with a possible Kazakh-off against Yulia Putintseva in Round 2. It won’t be easy with Marta Kostyuk potentially waiting in Round 3, while Iva Jovic, Naomi Osaka, Sara Bejlek and Paula Badosa all await underneath. Despite a solid season to start and our futures pick on the women’s side – this is a tough draw for Rybakina.

Literally anyone named in the paragraph above can reach the Sweet 16 in Rybakina’s section, as Section 4 which lies underneath is much easier for the favorite Pegula. Her seeded opponents in the section include Leylah Fernandez, Jaqueline Cristian and Ekaterina Alexandrova – all inconsistent currently. Jess will be a favorite against any of those players, although Alexandrova has seen success in Miami including a win over Siwatek.

Pick: Elena Rybakina
Sleeper: Jessica Pegula

Women’s Quarter 3

Anisimova is the top name in Quarter 3, although Belinda Bencic is a real threat to win her section of the draw. Anisimova might also faces Ajla Tomljanovic in Round 2, who is playing gritty tennis and not an easy out. Eva Lys is also in this section, but returning from an injury its best to avoid as a potential dark horse for now. The big question becomes who Anisimova might face in the Sweet 16 between (potentially) Diana Shnaider and Bencic. Tereza Valentova and Zeynep Sonmez are also long shots with a pulse, so this section might see a few upsets although Anisimova and Bencic are the names to circle.

Underneath is a gauntlet where Gauff is the top seed. She has struggled lately while also being lumped in a section that includes Maria Sakkari, Elise Mertens, Linda Noskova, Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Sorana Cirstea. This is by far the toughest section of the women’s draw, and officially our section of death for the WTA side of Miami. It’ll be a fight for any of those names to survive before the Sweet 16, so we look up at the easier section for our pick here.

Pick: Amanda Anisimova
Sleeper: Belinda Bencic

Women’s Quarter 4

The top section of Quarter 4 is a toss up between a few names, but the standouts include Mirra Andreeva, Mboko and Kalinskaya. Kalinskaya lives near Miami, so the comfort level should be high for her in terms of location and conditions. Andreeva did have a melt down in California, but she typically bounces back well after those sorts of moments. The name to watch here is Mboko, taking eventual Indian Wells champion Sabalenka to the brink along with many notable wins this season.

The very bottom of the bracket sees Swiatek as the favored name, but a potential Round 3 encounter with Alexandra Eala might hinder her chances early. If Iga can get past Eala then she should be fine to reach the quarterfinals with Karolina Muchova as the top name in her section. Muchova is playing great tennis this season, but ran into a wall against Swiatek during Indian Wells and has lost four straight against the Polish star. Regardless, Mboko is playing so confidently that its hard to pick against her right now.

Pick: Victoria Mboko
Sleeper: Karolina Muchova

Photo Credit: AP/Mark J. Terrill