The WTA tour is heading for it’s final tennis event in the USA of the year as the Miami Open takes place, with Aryna Sabalenka the overwhelming favorite to take the crown.
The best women’s players in the world will go head-to-head to compete for the crown in Florida before the tour makes the switch to the European clay courts, and they will all be going hard to be successful after the draw was made on Sunday night.
We’ll take a look ahead to the tournament and provide you with our best free tennis betting picks in the process to try and earn you some extra while while you take in the action on the court.
It will come as a surprise to absolutely nobody that world number one Aryna Sabalenka is the top seed and favorite to claim victory in Miami, and she has a strong chance of doing exactly that.
Sabalenka started her season with victory in Brisbane before finishing as runner-up in the Australian Open, and she also had some good showings at Indian Wells where she once again reached the final before suffering defeat.
Her draw has seen her potentially paired with defending champion Danielle Collins in the third round and she should have more than enough to see her off before a potential quarter-final match-up with Elena Rybakina.
If she is able to get past her rival there then she will have every chance of progressing all the way to the final. It would be the first time she has ever gone past the quarter-final stage and would leave her in great stead.
She has the playing style and form to get it done and at +275 there is good value for her to claim the Miami Open championship for the first time.
The world number two has been given a slight advantage in the draw with most of the heavy hitters on the opposite side, and that makes the +300 price look like great value.
Swiatek became only the fourth woman in history to win the ‘Sunshine Double’ back in 2022 when she claimed victory at Indian Wells and Miami in the same year, showing that when she is at the top of her game she is more than capable of going all the way on this court.
A five-time Grand Slam winner, the dominant Polish native is looking to step up after losing in the semi-finals at Indian Wells. She also reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and Qatar Open earlier this year while also making the quarter-finals of the Dubai Championship.
She is still looking for her first title of 2025 but she is playing well and has experience of success here. At +300, this could be a fantastic value bet.
A phenom was born at Indian Wells earlier this month when 17-year-old Andreeva defeated world number one Sabalenka to claim the second tournament win of her career – matching the achievement of the great Serena Williams in the process of winning at Indian Wells before turning 18.
Andreeva could now join Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka and the aforementioned Swiatek in an exclusive list of women to complete the ‘Sunshine Double’ and she cannot be ruled out considering the success she is having at the moment.
The Russian, who was born in 2007, also won the Dubai Championships earlier this year but this will be her first ever appearance in the Miami Open so it will be interesting to see with how she copes after her most recent win.
She is likely to face fatigue after back-to-back finals and tournament wins, and she could come up against Swiatek en route to the final. At +850 the value is there if you back her to make history, but it looks like a tough ask for the youngster.
Kazakhstani star Rybakina has made winning the Miami Open her mission in 2025 having reached and lost in the final of this tournament in each of the last two years.
In 2023 she was beaten by Petra Kvitova before being surprised by Danielle Collins in 2024, but the 25-year-old tennis star is coming into her own in 2025 and looks set to make a big play for the crown once more.
Ranked at number seven in the world Rybakina made the semi-finals of the Abu Dhabi Open and the Dubai Championships, either side of a quarter-final run at the Qatar Open. She is in good form but has yet to win a title in 2025.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion is a versatile player that can adapt to all surfaces, and her powerful serve is something that can set her apart in the clay tournaments.
An aggressive baseline player, Rybakina looks to keep points short and sweet where possible and it would be no surprise to see her clinch a third WTA 1000 in Miami to add to her 2023 Indian Wells crown. At +1000, this is very good value for a very good player to find success on a surface she enjoys.
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.