Following a pair of WTA 1000s in the Middle East, the Sunshine Double kicked off in much different fashion with the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. There were relatively surprising champions in Doha (Karolina Muchova) and Dubai (Jessica Pegula), but order was restored in the desert — where Aryna Sabalenka beat Elena Rybakina in the final.
Now attention turns to the Miami Open, where the spring hard-court swing concludes before the clay-court grind begins. Sabalenka is the No. 1 seed and defending champion, but Rybakina, Iga Swiatek, and Coco Gauff also have their sights set on the title.
Here are my best bets for the 2026 Miami WTA 1000. Check out the odds and make tennis bets at Casinoways.
Elena Rybakina (+600)
Sabalenka was a two-time runner-up in Indian Wells before she finally got over the hump for her first title in Tennis Paradise. Rybakina will be looking to accomplish the same feat in Miami after losing the final there in both 2023 and 2024. There is no reason why she can’t do it. The second-ranked Kazakh won the Australian Open earlier this season and came within a point of lifting the trophy in Indian Wells on Sunday before falling to Sabalenka in a third-set tiebreaker. Don’t be surprised if Rybakina goes one step farther this time around in Miami while also making amends for her near miss in IW.
Victoria Mboko (+1400)
Mboko took the tennis world by storm with a WTA 1000 title in front of her home crowd in Montreal last summer. It has only been full steam ahead for the 19-year-old in 2026. She has already posted runner-up finishes in Adelaide and at the WTA Doha 1000, and she reached the quarterfinals in Indian Wells. Mboko’s losses this season have come to Mirra Andreeva (Adelaide final), Karolina Muchova (Doha final), and Sabalenka twice (Aussie Open and Indian Wells). The Canadian has a favorable draw in Miami, where she is on the opposite side of the bracket from both Sabalenka and Rybakina.
Belinda Bencic (+5000)
If you are looking for a longshot play, Bencic seems like a decent option. The 29-year-old Swiss is a two-time WTA 1000 champion and she won a pair of 500-point tournaments last season (Abu Dhabi and Tokyo). Bencic was a Miami semifinalist in 2022, so she knows how to handle these hot and humid conditions on the outskirts of South Beach. The world No. 12 has an absolutely ideal draw in Miami; she would not face Swiatek until the semis and either Sabalenka or Rybakina until the final.