{"id":1822813,"date":"2026-03-12T20:30:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T17:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1822813"},"modified":"2026-03-12T20:30:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T17:30:05","slug":"miami-open-wildcards-confirmed-as-venus-williams-headlines-13-strong-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1822813","title":{"rendered":"Miami Open: Wildcards confirmed as Venus Williams headlines 13-strong list"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Miami Open: Wildcards confirmed as Venus Williams headlines 13-strong list<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/oli-dickson-jefford\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Oli Dickson Jefford                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"12 Mar 2026 8:30 PM\" data-ps-date=\"12 Mar 2026 8:30 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1773347405\"><br \/>\n                            12 Mar 2026 8:30 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/common\/google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" 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<\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/common\/google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/common\/google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn-hidden\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"Miami Open: Wildcards confirmed as Venus Williams headlines 13-strong list\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Venus-Williams-Sloane-Stephens-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured L-R: Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens.\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Grand Slam champions Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens.                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\">\n<p>The Miami Open has announced 13 wildcards for this year\u2019s men\u2019s and women\u2019s singles draw, with Venus Williams the star name among the players selected.<\/p>\n<p>The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion will continue her recent return to action at the event she has often considered her home tournament, though plenty of other notable names have also now received wildcards.<\/p>\n<p>Here, we take you through the 13 players selected across both the women\u2019s and men\u2019s singles draws in Miami.<\/p>\n<h2>Women\u2019s singles wildcards<\/h2>\n<p>Eight wildcards have been announced for the women\u2019s singles draw, with tennis icon and former world No 1 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/venus-williams\">Williams<\/a> by far and away the most high-profile name selected.<\/p>\n<p>The American is a three-time champion at the WTA 1000 event, and 2026 will mark 25 years since her third and most recent triumph back in 2001.<\/p>\n<p>Williams will be back at the tournament for the first time since 2024, when she was beaten by Diana Shnaider in the opening round.<\/p>\n<p>The 45-year-old is yet to win a match in 2026, having fallen in the opening round of all five tournaments she has contested so far this season.<\/p>\n<p>Also receiving a wildcard into the women\u2019s singles draw is former world No 3 and 2017 US Open champion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/sloane-stephens\">Sloane Stephens<\/a>, who lifted the Miami Open title back in 2018.<\/p>\n<h2>Tennis News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/2026-miami-open-what-prize-money-and-ranking-points-will-be-on-offer\">2026 Miami Open: What prize money and ranking points will be on offer?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/wta-miami-open-entry-list-2026\">WTA Miami Open 2026 Entry List: Sabalenka, Swiatek, Rybakina, Gauff star; will Eala &amp; Raducanu be seeded?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Stephens is currently ranked 780th in the world and is continuing her comeback after a significant injury layoff in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>There is a strong American contingent among the women\u2019s singles wildcards, with former Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/taylor-townsend\">Taylor Townsend<\/a>, and Ashlyn Krueger also now in the main draw.<\/p>\n<p>Former college tennis star Darja Vidmanova has also received a main-draw wildcard, as have WTA rising stars <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/emerson-jones\">Emerson Jones<\/a> and Lilli Tagger.<\/p>\n<h2>Men\u2019s singles wildcards<\/h2>\n<p>Five wildcards have been confirmed for the men\u2019s singles draw, with two rising stars of American leading the way.<\/p>\n<p>Long-recognised as one of the hottest prospects in US men\u2019s tennis, 18-year-old Darwin Blanch will be back in action at the Miami Open, having previously received a main-draw wildcard back in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Also receiving a wildcard is Martin Damm, with the 23-year-old having previously received a wildcard into Indian Wells this past fortnight.<\/p>\n<p>The 23-year-old reached his first ATP Tour semi-final at the Open Occitanie back in Febraury, and is the son of former world No 42 Martin Damm Sr.<\/p>\n<p>Considered one of the brightest talents within French tennis, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/moise-koume\">Moise Kouame<\/a> will make his Masters 1000 main-draw debut after receiving a wildcard, with 19-yearold Japanese rising star Rei Sakamoto also benefiting from a wildcard.<\/p>\n<p>The fifth and final men\u2019s singles wildcard awarded to date has been handed to Wu Yibing of China.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Read Next<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/miami-open-2026-withdrawal-list-will-novak-djokovic-play-after-indian-wells\">Miami Open withdrawal list: 8 players out, will Novak Djokovic play after Indian Wells exit?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Miami Open: Wildcards confirmed as Venus Williams headlines 13-strong list Oli Dickson Jefford 12 Mar 2026 8:30 PM Grand Slam champions Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens. The Miami Open has announced 13 wildcards for this year\u2019s men\u2019s and women\u2019s singles draw, with Venus Williams the star name among the players selected. The seven-time Grand Slam [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-1822813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1822813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1822813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1822813\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1822813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1822813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1822813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}