Published: March 22, 2026 at 5:24 pm
Coco Gauff came from behind to win an all-American matchup against Alycia Parks on Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium to advance to the round of 16 at the Miami Open. This will be her fourth appearance in the last 16 in Miami, as the 22-year-old continues to chase her first quarterfinal at the WTA 1000 event.
Gauff opened with an early break to take a 2-0 lead, but Parks responded by winning six straight games to claim the first set 6-2. From there, Gauff dominated, winning 12 of the next 13 games to secure a 2-6, 6-0, 6-1 victory in 1 hour, 50 minutes. Despite the lopsided scoreline in the final two sets, Gauff was pushed in several games, even urging her team to raise their support for her early in the second set.
Gauff will next face Sorana Cirstea in the round of 16. The Romanian veteran, playing her final season on tour, defeated 21st seed Elise Mertens 6-3, 6-2 earlier in the day. Gauff won their only previous meeting, a three-set match in the second round of the 2022 Australian Open.
Mboko to face Andreeva
Prior to the 2026 season, Victoria Mboko and Mirra Andreeva hadn’t faced each other. Not even three months into the young season, the tour’s two teenage stars will have their trilogy battle in the Round of 16 in Miami.
Both players handled their respective tasks in the third round. Mboko picked up a 6-1, 7-5 win over qualifier Anastasia Zakharova, notching the second set’s lone break in the penultimate game to end the game on her serve while Andreeva built momentum off a first-set tiebreak to secure a 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory over Marie Bouzkova.
Mirra Andreeva will clash with Victoria Mboko in the fourth round of the Miami Open on Monday. Pic: US Open
It’s the newest, and youngest, rivalry in the sport and makes Monday’s fourth-round match highly-anticipated as the they split their two previous meetings. Andreeva won their first meeting to win her fourth WTA singles title at the Adelaide International in January, though Mboko avenged that defeat in a thrilling 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) in the third round of Doha, where the Canadian saved a match point and later eventually reached the final of the tournament.
Interestingly, Mboko and Andreeva are the doubles partners in Miami, joining forces once more after two wins together at Indian Wells. They’ll open doubles play on Sunday before clashing in Monday’s singles fourth round.
Eala overcomes Linette
Alexandra Eala turned up the ante when it mattered most. After a routine first-set win, she would have to withstand Magda Linette in a tiebreak in the second set. However, she handled it with ease, setting herself up with five match points in the tiebreak and winning 6-3, 7-6 (2).
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Linette came in off an upset win over Polish compatriot Iga Swiatek, but Eala’s two breaks of serve and 20 winners fueled the third round win. Eala exploited Linette’s second serve Friday, winning nearly half of the Pole’s second-service points as Linette had only landed 56% of her first serves.
Eala will next face Doha champion Karolina Muchova Monday for the first time on the WTA Tour for a spot in the quarterfinals after the Czech defeated Katie Boulter in straight sets.
Jovic takes on Gibson
Two fast-rising young talents will face off in the third round of the Miami Open after No. 18 seed Iva Jovic and Australian qualifier Talia Gibson earned high-profile wins on Saturday.
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Eighteen-year-old American Jovic surrendered just three games to defeat former World No. 2 Paula Badosa 6-2, 6-1 in her second-round match, while Gibson, who scored big wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova, Clara Tauson and Jasmine Paolini on way to the quarterfinals in Indian Wells, added a 7-5, 6-4 win over four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka to her collection of recent victories.
For Jovic, the ease of her 1 hour and 16-minute victory over Badosa helped banish some demons from the last time she was on the court. In the second round of the BNP Paribas Open, she lost to Camila Osorio 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 after having three match points in the second set.
