Published: March 23, 2026 at 10:24 am
Aryna Sabalenka and Zheng Qinwen will resume their rivalry in the Round of 16 at the Miami Open after both players won their third-round matches in contrasting fashion at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Sunday.
Sabalenka, world No. 1 and BNP Paribas Open champion, pulled away from American Caty McNally under the lights in the night session, winning 10 of the last 12 games in her 6-4, 6-2 triumph, to follow Zheng’s 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 comeback victory over No. 15 seed Madison Keys.
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The win was a notable one for Zheng, who is rounding into form after coming back to the WTA Tour following a major elbow injury that required surgery last year. It marked her first triumph over a Top 20 player in the WTA Rankings since Roland Garros last spring, and she moves on to face off against Sabalenka for a ninth time, in the hopes of securing her second win in their last three matches.
After dropping her first six matches against Sabalenka, Zheng secured her first win in the head-to-head in Rome last May, and she’ll hope to be the one to end Sabalenka’s bid for a second straight Miami title, as well as her hope of completing the Sunshine Double.
After her two hour, 17-minute win over Keys concluded, Zheng confessed that she struggled to keep up with the pace coming at her from Keys’ shots over the first set and early in the second. But once she caught up to the speed of the game, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist couldn’t be tamed. Zheng ended the match with 31 winners, double that of Keys’ 15, and 23 of those came in sets two and three.
After not having a break point in the first set, Zheng created 13 in the next two sets, and won four of them. She also saved 10 of 11 break points she faced in that span, including all nine in the second set.
Sabalenka tested by McNally
The start of Sabalenka’s match against McNally unfolded similarly to her prior round against another American Ann Li. In that match, Sabalenka was up 4-1 in the first set only to see Li level at 4-4, and against McNally, she lost a 4-2 lead due to inspired play from her opponent.
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But, as Sabalenka, said in her on-court interview, the ninth game proved crucial. She needed six deuces to hold serve, escaping from 15-30 in the process, and broke McNally for a third time to wrap up the set. She then won four straight games from 2-2 in the second set to wrap up her win in 1 hour and 25 minutes.
McNally hit 20 winners to just nine unforced errors in the match overall, and Sabalenka finding her stride at the right time was necessary. Nineteen of Sabalenka’s 26 winners for the match came off her forehand side.
Ostapenko comes from behind to pip Paolini
Latvian Jelena Ostapenko scored a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 over No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini after 2 hours and 33 minutes of wildly fluctuating momentum shifts. The result also extended Ostapenko’s superb recent record against Top 10 opposition.
Last year, she was victorious in 80% of her matches against players ranked inside the Top 10, the best winning percentage on tour, with her only such loss coming against Paolini in Rome. Ostapenko now leads her head-to-head against Paolini 3-2, and she has won six of her past eight showdowns with Top 10 opponents.
This one was the most hard-fought of those contests. After a string of net cords went Paolini’s way in the first few games, Ostapenko’s radar deserted her as she fell behind 5-2. She pegged Paolini back to 5-5, reeling off a series of return winners only for her hot streak to end before the comeback had been completed.
Latvian Jelena Ostapenko scored a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 over No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini after 2 hours and 33 minutes of wildly fluctuating momentum shifts in the Miami Open. Pics: US Open
Down a second set point, Ostapenko was unable to hit through Paolini’s valiant defense, and when the Italian threaded a pass past her the Butch Buchholz court erupted in roars of appreciation. Ostapenko was less amused, sticking her fingers in her ears and spending the ensuing changeover with a towel covering her head.
On resumption, Ostapenko rattled off 10 of the next 12 games with clean, composed ball-striking to lead 4-0 in the decider. Having attempted to block out the crowd after the first set, Ostapenko’s reaction to winning the second with an unreturnable serve couldn’t have been more different as she exhorted them to cheer even louder.
Closing the match out was never going to be simple. Paolini came up with several superb redirects of Ostapenko’s pace and steadily chipped away at her lead. 4-0 turned into 4-3, and though Ostapenko held for 5-3, she was unable to serve out the win at the first time of asking.
But as Paolini held a point to lead 6-5, Ostapenko found another flurry of line-skimming winners to break once again. Despite a nervy double fault on her second match point, she slammed down a 12th ace to convert her third, and this time, was all smiles as she blew kisses to all corners of the crowd.
Ostapenko, the 2018 Miami finalist, advanced to the fourth round here for the third time. Next up will be her Indian Wells doubles partner, Hailey Baptiste. The 24-year-old American pulled off a notable upset on home soil, defeating No. 9 seed Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-5 to claim her second career Top 10 win. Baptiste tallied 28 winners and won nine of 15 points at net, two stats encapsulated by her bold serve-and-volley play to convert her second match point.
Pegula dismisses Fernandez easily
If Ostapenko’s oscillating scoreboard was very much in character, so too was No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula’s efficient, fuss-free 6-2, 6-2 dismissal of No. 26 seed Leylah Fernandez. She struck 22 winners to just 12 unforced errors, and was rarely in danger during the 66-minute contest.
Pegula faced just two break points in total, both as she led 3-2 with a break in the second set. She saved each with an ace and wrapped proceedings up briskly in the next two games.
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The 32-year-old advanced to the fourth round of Miami for a sixth straight year where she will next face Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian. The No. 34 seed came from 4-2 down in the third set to upset No. 11 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(5) and book her place in the last 16 of a WTA 1000 tournament for the first time. The result was Cristian’s sixth career Top 20 win, two of which have come against Alexandrova this year, following her first-round victory in Adelaide.
Gibson faces Rybakina in pre-quarters
Just one month ago, Talia Gibson wasn’t even playing a WTA Tour event, electing to play at the ITF level during the Middle East Swing as she was ranked No. 112 in the WTA Rankings. But after a remarkable quarterfinal run at Indian Wells where she earned her first three top 20 wins, Gibson booked her spot in the Round of 16 at the Miami Open with her fifth top 20 win, defeating Iva Jovic 6-2 6-2, one day after getting past Naomi Osaka in straight sets.
Gibson’s now reached back-to-back WTA 1000 Round of 16’s for the first time and will face World No. 2 Elena Rybakina for a spot in the next round. Pic: Tennis World USA
Gibson’s now reached back-to-back WTA 1000 Round of 16’s for the first time, and will face World No. 2 Elena Rybakina for a spot in the next round.
The Australian was essentially flawless Sunday afternoon, not facing a single break point and winning around 80% of points on both her first and second serve. On her returns, she displayed impeccable precision and power, often hitting down the line winners, forcing Jovic to the corners and controlling the points.
Whether Gibson can reach back-to-back WTA 1000 quarterfinals will be determined her she can overcome Australian Open champion and Indian Wells Rybakina, who earned a routine 6-3, 6-4 win over Marta Kostyuk.
