{"id":1835598,"date":"2026-03-19T16:15:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T13:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1835598"},"modified":"2026-03-19T16:15:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T13:15:03","slug":"elena-rybakina-told-she-will-have-a-hard-time-at-miami-open-as-title-favourite-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1835598","title":{"rendered":"Elena Rybakina told she will have &#8216;a hard time&#8217; at Miami Open as title favourite revealed"},"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\">Elena Rybakina told she will have \u2018a hard time\u2019 at Miami Open as title favourite revealed<\/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\/ewan-west\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Ewan West                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"19 Mar 2026 4:15 PM\" data-ps-date=\"19 Mar 2026 4:15 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1773936903\"><br \/>\n                            19 Mar 2026 4:15 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\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                       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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\/preferred_source_badge_dark.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\/preferred_source_badge_light.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=\"Elena Rybakina told she will have \u2018a hard time\u2019 at Miami Open as title favourite revealed\"><\/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\/Iga-Swiatek-Aryna-Sabalenka-Elena-Rybakina-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina\">                <\/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                                Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\">\n<p>Former world No 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov has broken down why he thinks Elena Rybakina will find it difficult to play her best tennis at the 2026 Miami Open.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/elena-rybakina\">Rybakina<\/a> climbed to a new career-high ranking of world No 2 on Monday after she was a runner-up at the Indian Wells Open last week.<\/p>\n<p>The two-time Grand Slam champion was beaten 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) by world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a thrilling championship match in Tennis Paradise after having a match point in the third set tiebreak.<\/p>\n<p>The 26-year-old Kazakh will aim to win her maiden title at the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami, where she will face either Janice Tjen or Yulia Putintseva in her opening match.<\/p>\n<p>Rybakina was a Miami Open runner-up in 2023 and 2024, and she holds a 12-5 record from her five previous appearances at the event.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on the Hard Court podcast, Kafelnikov gave his verdict on the favourites to win the Miami Open women\u2019s singles title.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven in [the Indian Wells] final, it was noticeable that she (Sabalenka) was a little out of control,\u201d said the two-time Grand Slam winner.\u00a0\u201cThat won\u2019t happen in Miami. In Miami, if you hit it there, the ball will always go inside the court.<\/p>\n<h2>WTA Tour News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/former-world-no-9-reveals-fantasy-for-womens-tennis-as-she-names-potential-big-four\"><strong>Former world No 9 reveals \u2018fantasy for women\u2019s tennis\u2019 as she names potential Big Four<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/alex-eala-speaks-popularity-famous-miami-open-2026\"><strong>Miami Open: Alex Eala gets candid about her huge popularity as she makes \u2018surprising\u2019 confession<\/strong><\/a><\/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>\u201cI\u2019m more inclined to say Sabalenka will win than, let\u2019s say, [Elena] Rybakina.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that Sabalenka\u2019s chances are preferable. Even [Iga] Swiatek has better chances than Elena.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElena will have a bit of a hard time because the balls will be heavy, and they\u2019re going to get heavier and heavier with every point.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going to be very hard for her to hit those flat shots.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rybakina is seeded third in Miami as the seedings were determined before the latest WTA Rankings update, and she is projected to meet Sabalenka in the semi-finals.<\/p>\n<p>Sabalenka, who is the defending Miami Open champion, is vying to complete the Sunshine Double for the first time in her career.<\/p>\n<p>Iga Swiatek, the world No 3 and second seed in Miami, is chasing her second title at the tournament in South Florida after her victory in 2022.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/gauff-backs-sabalenka-eala-fonseca-star-treatment-medvedev-third-best-player-miami-open-roundup\">Gauff backs Sabalenka, Eala &amp; Fonseca star treatment, Medvedev \u2018third-best player\u2019: Miami Open roundup<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elena Rybakina told she will have \u2018a hard time\u2019 at Miami Open as title favourite revealed Ewan West 19 Mar 2026 4:15 PM Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina Former world No 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov has broken down why he thinks Elena Rybakina will find it difficult to play her best tennis at the [&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-1835598","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\/1835598","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=1835598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1835598\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1835598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1835598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1835598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}