WTA 1000 MIAMI OPEN. by Emilia Naftali
Petra Kvitová defeated Elena Rybakina in the final, 7–6, 6–2 to win the women’s singles tennis title at the 2023 Miami Open. It was Kvitová’s first WTA 1000 title since 2018 Madrid, and her 30th career title overall; she also became the first Czech player to win the title.
For almost the entirety of Petra Kvitova’s storied 17-year career, the hard courts of the Miami Open have played slowly in humid Floridian weather, conditions entirely unsuited to the best fast-court player of her generation. In her 12 previous Miami Open appearances, she had never passed the quarter-finals.
But this year, the courts have been unusually fast, infusing Kvitova’s vicious lefty serve and nuclear groundstrokes with even more pace. She has ruthlessly taken advantage of the more favourable conditions and on Saturday afternoon the 15th seed closed off nine days of vintage ball-striking
by outmuscling Elena Rybakina, the 10th seed, 7-6 (14), 6-2.
By winning the title for the first time, she ended Rybakina’s 13-match winning streak and her pursuit of the “sunshine double”, Indian Wells and Miami, at the final stage.
After ample struggles in this autumn of her career, including falling out of the top 30 last season, as many questioned whether she would keep playing for much longer, Miami marks the 33-year-old’s first WTA 1000 title since 2018 and ninth overall. Most notably, this is a milestone 30th career title for Kvitova, the highest tally among her generation. Among active women players, only Venus Williams has won more titles.
Photo Gabriel Matteazzi 