Muchova vs Gauff - 20:00 CET
Match news and form
Coco Gauff would not have been surprised when she played her fourth consecutive three-set match of the campaign against Belinda Bencic in the quarter-finals. Nevertheless, she had to dig deep and climb out of a break deficit in the deciding set to finally defeat the Swiss player, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, extending her best Miami result.
Gauff is now the youngest American to reach the Miami Open semi-finals since Serena Williams in 2004, the year she was born. The path was anything but straightforward as she had to rally from a set down against Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Alycia Parks, and later dropped the second set to Sorana Cirstea.
The reigning Roland-Garros champion, who had never been beyond the fourth round in Miami before this month, arrived at the Hard Rock Stadium with mixed form. She had suffered early losses in Doha and Indian Wells (retired), but steadied herself with a quarter-final at the Australian Open and a semi-final in Dubai.
Karolina Muchova saved a set point late in the second set and later eked away a 7-5, 7-6 victory at the expense of reigning Montreal champion Victoria Mboko. While she broke the Canadian’s serve just once in the hour and 47 minutes, she did not lose a service game of her own and instead saved both breakpoint threats.
After rallying from a set down against Camila Osorio in the opening round, Muchova has not lost a set in the next three matches, including dispatching Katie Boulter and Alexandra Eala. She had never gone past the third round hurdle in Miami before, but arrived in the city with rich form this time and now stands 18-3 over the season.
Head-to-head
Gauff leads 5-0. She won their first four meetings in straight sets but needed the scenic route in the latest one, in the fourth round of the Australian Open this January.
Stats & facts
Gauff is about to play just her seventh semi-final since the start of 2025 after going 4-2 in the last six, a marked improvement from her 3-6 showing in 2024.
Gauff has reached five WTA 1000 finals in her career, including three in 2025 alone: runner-up in Madrid and Rome, and champion in Wuhan.
Muchova seeks her biggest win in terms of ranking since knocking out world No. 4 Jasmine Paolini at the United Cup in January 2025.
Muchova stands 3-5 in the semi-finals since her comeback in 2024; last month in Doha, she reached her first final since 2024 Beijing and won her first title since 2019 Seoul.
Betting analysis
Now that Gauff has wiggled out of four consecutive three-set matches, the American will be feeling much more confident in her resilience than at the start of the tournament. She is wise enough to expect another huge ordeal in the face of Muchova, but her flawless history against the Czech and the home crowd support are expected to carry her into the championship round.
Muchova in 2026
Best results: Doha (title)
Best results on outdoor hard courts: Doha (title)
Record: 18-3
Record in the last 10 matches: 9-1
Record on outdoor hard courts: 18-3
Record against top 10: 3-3 (career 18-27)
Record in WTA 1000 semi-finals: 1-0 (career 3-1)
Record in semi-finals: 1-1 (career 7-9)
Grand Slams: Australian Open (round of 16)
Muchova at the Miami Open
Career record: 10-3
Best result: Semi-finals (2026)
Last year's result: Round of 32
Record in semi-finals: 0-0
Preparation: Indian Wells (round of 16)
Road to the semi-finals: Bye, Osorio (4-6, 6-2, 7-5), Boulter (6-3, 7-5), (31) Eala (6-0, 6-2), (10) Mboko (7-5, 7-6)
Gauff in 2026
Best results: Dubai (semi-finals)
Best results on outdoor hard courts: Dubai (semi-finals)
Record: 15-5
Record in the last 10 matches: 8-2
Record on outdoor hard courts: 15-5
Record against top 20: 3-2 (career 57-53)
Record in WTA 1000 semi-finals: 0-1 (career 5-8)
Record in semi-finals: 0-1 (career 14-17)
Grand Slams: Australian Open (quarter-finals)
Gauff at the Miami Open
Career record: 12-6
Best result: Semi-finals (2026)
Last year's result: Round of 16
Record in semi-finals: 0-0
Preparation: Indian Wells (round of 32)
Road to the semi-finals: Bye, Cocciaretto (3-6, 6-4, 6-3), Parks (3-6, 6-0, 6-1), Cirstea (6-4, 3-6, 6-2), (12) Bencic (6-3, 1-6, 6-3)
Sabalenka vs Rybakina - Friday 01:30 CET
Match news and form
Aryna Sabalenka moves into the semi-finals of the Miami Open for the second time in her career and keeps her title defence very much on track. The world No. 1 broke Hailey Baptiste at opportune moments in either set to prevail 6-4, 6-4 in an hour and 20 minutes, continuing her perfect run in the campaign.
Sabalenka has not lost a set in any of the four rounds and has not dropped more than four games per set since her opening-round victory against Ann Li. Along the way, she has defeated Caty McNally and Zheng Qinwen, consolidating her already staggering season win-loss record to 21-1.
The Belarusian has reached the championship round in 12 of 19 tournaments since the start of the 2025 season and became the champion on six of those occasions. Since returning to hard courts in August, she has gone on to become the winner or runner-up at the US Open, WTA Finals, Brisbane, Australian Open, and Indian Wells.
Elena Rybakina extended her winning streak against Jessica Pegula to five matches after rallying against the American, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the quarter-finals. It was her first three-setter of the campaign after having comfortably crushed Yulia Putintseva, Marta Kostyuk, and rising star Talia Gibson in the earlier rounds.
Notwithstanding her relatively early exits in Doha and Dubai, Rybakina is playing just as well this season as Sabalenka. Indeed, the 2022 Wimbledon champion went on to win her second career major title at the Australian Open and recently settled as the runner-up in Indian Wells, facing none other than Sabalenka in both finals.
Head-to-head
Sabalenka leads 9-7, although she has lost three of the last five encounters. Their last three clashes have come in various finals in the last five months; Rybakina prevailed at the WTA Finals and Australian Open, but fell short in Indian Wells a fortnight ago after holding a championship point.
Stats & facts
Sabalenka stands 12-3 in semi-finals since the beginning of the 2025 season and 4-0 in her last four.
Sabalenka has won 18 of her last 24 meetings with top-10 players, though three of the losses came to Rybakina alone.
Rybakina has won nine of her last 14 clashes with reigning world No. 1 players, with six of those wins coming against Sabalenka.
Rybakina holds a 2-0 record in Miami Open semi-finals, going on to become the runner-up in 2023 and 2024.
Betting analysis
Needless to say, this has been one of the standout rivalries of the WTA Tour in recent years. After facing off sixteen times against one another in official settings, there will be no surprises between the pair. Sabalenka will have the slimmest of advantages going into this match, just like she did at this month’s Indian Wells final, which she won in a deciding-set tiebreak.
Sabalenka in 2026
Best results: Indian Wells, Brisbane (title); Australian Open (final)
Best results on outdoor hard courts: Indian Wells, Brisbane (title); Australian Open (final)
Record: 21-1
Record in the last 10 matches: 10-0
Record on outdoor hard courts: 21-1
Record against top 10: 3-1 (career 58-43)
Record in WTA 1000 semi-finals: 1-0 (career 14-6)
Record in semi-finals: 3-0 (career 43-21)
Grand Slams: Australian Open (final)
Sabalenka at the Miami Open
Career record: 18-6
Best result: Title (2025)
Last year's result: Title
Record in semi-finals: 1-0
Preparation: Indian Wells (title)
Road to the semi-finals: Bye, Li (7-6, 6-4), McNally (6-4, 6-2), (23) Qinwen Zheng (6-3, 6-4), Baptiste (6-4, 6-4)
Rybakina in 2026
Best results: Australian Open (title); Indian Wells (final)
Best results on outdoor hard courts: Australian Open (title); Indian Wells (final)
Record: 21-4
Record in the last 10 matches: 9-1
Record on outdoor hard courts: 21-4
Record against top 10: 6-1 (career 37-28)
Record in WTA 1000 semi-finals: 1-0 (career 6-6)
Record in semi-finals: 2-0 (career 24-15)
Grand Slams: Australian Open (title)
Rybakina at the Miami Open
Career record: 16-5
Best result: Final (2023-24)
Last year's result: Round of 64
Record in semi-finals: 2-0
Preparation: Indian Wells (final)
Road to the semi-finals: Bye, Putintseva (6-3, 6-3), (27) Kostyuk (6-3, 6-4), Gibson (6-2, 6-2), (5) Pegula (2-6, 6-3, 6-4)