Miami Open 2022: Women's draw, schedule, players, prize money, order of play & more
The 37th edition of the Miami Open is scheduled to get underway with main-draw action starting Tuesday. Leading the field at this year's tournament in the absence of two-time defending champion Ashleigh Barty will be top seed Aryna Sabalenka and the in-form Iga Swiatek.
Other big names, including Grand Slam champions Gabrine Muguruza, Simona Halep and top-10 players Maria Sakkari, Anett Kontaveit and Paula Badosa will also feature in a highly competitive field.
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On that note, here's all the information you need to know about the Miami Open.
What is the Miami Open?
The Miami Open is a tennis tournament played at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It is part of the ATP Masters 1000 circuit and the WTA 1000 circuit.
The tournament was played at the Crandon Park Tennis Center in Key Biscayne, Florida from 1987-2018 before moving to Miami Gardens in 2019. With attendance consistently touching the 300,000 mark, the Miami Open has become one of the sport's biggest events.
Clubbed with the BNP Paribas Open, it forms the prestigious Sunshine Double. The Miami Open is usually played during March-April.
Former women's singles champions at the WTA 1000 tournament include Serena Williams, the most successful player with a whopping eight trophies, Victoria Azarenka, Sloane Stephens and Kim Clijsters.
Players
Following the withdrawal of World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty and Barbora Krejcikova, Aryna Sabalenka will lead the field at this year's tournament.
The top seed will anchor a loaded first quarter which includes fellow top-10 player Karolina Pliskova, 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, Tokyo Olympic champion Belinda Bencic and former World No. 1 Simona Halep.
Danielle Collins, who will be playing her first competitive match since reaching her maiden Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, finds herself in Ons Jabeur's quarter. Also present in the top half are Leylah Fernandez and Naomi Osaka.
Paula Badosa and Maria Sakkari find themselves headed for a potential quarter-final showdown, with both having landed in the third quarter, which also features three-time winner Victoria Azarenka.
Two-time Grand Slam champions Garbine Muguruza and Petra Kvitova have been afforded some breathing room in a section crowded with qualifiers.
Second seed Iga Swiatek, meanwhile, may have to find a way past the likes of Jelena Ostapenko, Coco Gauff and Liudmila Samsonova in her quest for a third consecutive WTA 1000 title.
Schedule
The qualifying rounds will begin on Monday, March 21, with main-draw play to begin the following day. The day sessions are scheduled to commence at 11 am on all courts except Stadium 1, which will begin at 12 noon. The night sessions will kick off at 7 pm.
The tournament features a 96-player singles draw, with all 32 seeds having received first-round byes. They will begin their respective campaigns in the Round of 64. The singles final will be played on Saturday, April 2 at 1 pm local time.
Prize Money
The total prize money for the Miami Open this year is $8,584,055. The women's singles winner will take home a cheque worth $1,028,300 and 1,000 ranking points.
Where to watch
Viewers from the US can catch the action in Miami live on Tennis TV, while fans in the UK will be able to watch it live on Amazon Prime Video. Canadians can watch the matches live on TSN (English Language) & TVA (French Language).