The Miami Open witnessed a stunning upset as world No. 2 Iga Świątek was eliminated from her opening match in the second round.
Świątek lost to her fellow Polish player Magda Linette (ranked 50th in the world) by a score of 6–1, 5–7, 3–6, ending her remarkable streak of 74 consecutive tournaments without a loss in an opening match—a run that had begun at the WTA Finals in 2021.
Świątek completely dominated the first set, wrapping it up in just 33 minutes, but Linette regained her composure and capitalized on her opponent’s double faults at crucial moments in the second set, then carried her momentum through to win the deciding set.
As a result of this early loss (after also exiting in the quarterfinals of Indian Wells last week), Świątek will drop to third place in the world rankings, leaving the second spot to Elena Rybakina.
In the next round, Linette will face Alexandra Eala, who defeated Laura Siegemund in a tough three-set match earlier, 7–6, 3–6, 6–3.
The American star Venus Williams also bowed out of the tournament after losing to Britain’s Francesca Jones in the first round in straight sets, 5-7, 5-7.
In other first-round matches, Yuliia Starodubtseva (Ukraine) defeated Eva Lys (Germany) 6-1, 6-4, while Anastasia Zakharova (Russia) overcame Anna Bondar (Hungary) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. Elisabetta Cocciaretto (Italy) beat Darja Semenistaja (Latvia) 6-4, 6-1. Peyton Stearns (United States) defeated Viktorija Golubic (Switzerland) 7-6, 6-4.