The second leg of the Sunshine Doubles, the 2026 Miami Open, is underway at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Major stars, including top-ranked American Coco Gauff and top-ranked man Carlos Alcaraz, are competing at the tournament in hopes of a WTA/ATP Masters 1000 title before the hard-court season ends.
However, this highly competitive tournament has seen major upsets, with top stars like Ben Shelton, Iga Świątek, and others exiting before the third round.
Major Upsets on the Women’s Side, Including Iga Świątek and Others
The legendary American coach Rick Macci had already predicted the potential early upsets at the Miami Open, given the faster court speed at Hard Rock Stadium compared to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. This forecast proved true, as numerous seeded players have already exited the tournament without reaching the third round.
WTA World No. 2 Świątek has been going through a difficult stretch in her career, with early exits from multiple tournaments. The Miami Open was the same for her, as she faced fellow Polish star Magda Linette in the second-round match, suffering a 6-1, 5-7, 3-6 defeat. With this loss, Świątek’s hard-court swing ended with three consecutive quarterfinal exits in Melbourne, Doha, and Indian Wells.
The 14th seed, Linda Nosková, suffered the same fate in Miami, losing 2-6, 6-3, 4-6 to Sorana Cîrstea in the second-round match. The 16th seed, Naomi Osaka, suffered a massive upset at the hands of Australian qualifier Talia Gibson. The Japanese star lost 5-7, 4-6 in straight sets.
Another seeded player, 17th seed Clara Tauson, unfortunately, retired from her second-round match against Briton Katie Boulter early in the third set. Boulter was leading 6-7(4), 6-4, 1-0 when the Dane decided to retire due to back pain after losing the first game of the decider.
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The 19th seed, Liudmila Samsonova, faced American star Hailey Baptiste, who defeated Tatjana Maria in the first round. The American prevailed 6-3, 7-5 in straight sets, eliminating the Russian in her first match. Another major upset was the 22nd seed, Anna Kalinskaya, who suffered a 6-3, 1-6, 5-7 second-round defeat against Russian star Anastasia Zakharova.
Wang Xinyu, who entered the tournament as the 29th seed, suffered a 4-6, 6-1, 0-6 defeat against American Caty McNally, ending her Miami Open campaign this year. Spaniard Cristina Bucșa unfortunately had to retire from her second-round match against Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva due to a hip injury. The scoreline was 6-2, 3-2, with the qualifier leading when the 30th seed retired from the match.
Maria Sakkari, who became the 33rd seed due to British star Emma Raducanu’s withdrawal, received a first-round bye and faced American Alycia Parks in the second round. However, she could not overcome the American and suffered a 3-6, 3-6 straight-sets loss, ending her 2026 Miami Open campaign.
Alex de Minaur, Casper Ruud, and Other Top ATP Stars Suffer Second-Round Exit at Miami Open
Australian star Alex de Minaur, who entered the tournament as the fifth seed, suffered a second-round defeat against Greek icon Stefanos Tsitsipas. The current World No. 6, who lifted the ATP Rotterdam title last month, could not deliver another title run due to his 3-6, 6-7(3) loss.
The local favorite, Gainesville, Florida, native Ben Shelton, suffered one of the most devastating exits. He faced the Kazakhstani Alexander Shevchenko, who took the match 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 6-3 in nearly two hours and 25 minutes against the eighth seed.
Alexander Bublik, who lifted the Hong Kong Open title to start his 2026 season, could not end the hard-court swing with another title. He faced Italian star Matteo Berrettini, who completely took the 10th seed out of the match, advancing to the next round with a 6-4, 6-4 win.
The 11th seed, Casper Ruud, who recently welcomed a daughter with his partner, Maria Galligani, could not deliver a deep run at the second leg of the Sunshine Doubles. He faced American Ethan Quinn, who had defeated Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in his first match, in the second round and suffered a 4-6, 6-7(7) exit.
The 13th seed, Flavio Cobolli, suffered a 5-7, 3-6 second-round defeat against Belgian Raphael Collignon, ending his 2026 Miami Open campaign.
Andrey Rublev, entering the tournament as the 15th seed, lost 7-6(5), 2-6, 4-6 to the Chilean star Alejandro Tabilo.
The next seeded player who suffered another early exit at the tournament was the Spanish No. 2, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Frenchman Quentin Halys, who defeated the Canadian Liam Draxl in the first round, overcame the 16th seed 7-6(8), 6-4 to reach the third round.
Next on the list is the 17th seed, Luciano Darderi, who faced Spaniard Martin Landaluce in the second round, suffering a 3-6, 7-6(4), 4-6 exit. American rising star Learner Tien, who entered the tournament as the 20th seed, suffered a 2-6, 6-4, 2-6 three-set loss against Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak.
Cameron Norrie, the 23rd seed, faced the American rising star Alex Michelsen in the second round and lost 5-7, 7-6(4), 4-6 in three sets, ending his Miami campaign. Another Briton, Jack Draper, who dropped from World No. 14 to World No. 26 after being unable to defend his Indian Wells title just a week ago, suffered an early exit at the Miami Open. He faced American Reilly Opelka, losing 6-7(3), 6-7(0) in just over 90 minutes.
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Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, who made Carlos Alcaraz feel like he was “playing Roger Federer every round,” also suffered an early exit. The 26th seed faced fellow Frenchman Terence Atmane, who prevailed in straight sets 7-6(4), 6-3.
The last seed to exit the tournament was Brandon Nakashima, who closed the night session on Court 1 against 2014 US Open Champion Marin Čilić. Both players had a nail-biting match, with the Croatian winning 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(7) in the tiebreak of the hour-long decider.
Despite these major upsets, multiple top stars are still in the tournament, looking to capture the title and etch their names in the history books.
