{"id":2872,"date":"2026-03-19T07:39:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T07:39:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/03\/19\/tennis-live-all-miami-open-matches-delayed-as-aryna-sabalenka-threatens-to-skip-event-daily-express\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T07:39:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T07:39:04","slug":"tennis-live-all-miami-open-matches-delayed-as-aryna-sabalenka-threatens-to-skip-event-daily-express","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/03\/19\/tennis-live-all-miami-open-matches-delayed-as-aryna-sabalenka-threatens-to-skip-event-daily-express\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennis LIVE: All Miami Open matches delayed as Aryna Sabalenka threatens to skip event – Daily Express"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Miami<\/picture>The Miami Open – the second half of the ‘Sunshine Double’ after Indian Wells – is underway. The WTA main draw started on Tuesday, while the ATP main draw is set to begin on Wednesday. But the tournament has been rocked by rain delays all week, and that remained the case on Wednesday.
Play was expected to start at 11am local time (3pm GMT) on Wednesday, with Grandstand court matches kicking off an hour later. However, no players have been able to take to the court as a heavy downpour continued to delay proceedings in Miami, until all matches were officially cancelled for the day.<\/a>
The main Stadium Court has also been hit by the rain, and no matches will be played on the biggest court on Wednesday.<\/a> Tournament organisers issued a statement, hoping matches can begin there from Thursday onwards.
The media days are also underway at the Hard Rock Stadium, and Aryna Sabalenka has threatened to skip one WTA 1000 event after hearing some “ridiculous” comments<\/a> from a tournament director.
Express Sport keeps you posted with all of the latest news and goings on in Miami and beyond with our LIVE updates below…<\/strong><\/em>
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Coco Gauff has responded to Aryna Sabalenka’s recent admission on not wanting to play at the Dubai Tennis Championships again after the world No 1 was slammed for withdrawing from the tournament.
As quoted by The National<\/em>, Salah Tahlak, a tournament director, suggested players should be docked ranking points if they pull out. Sabalenka later responded to those comments and claimed that she is not sure she wants to play there again.
Ahead of the Miami Open, Gauff has issued her verdict on the situation and subsequently supported Sabalenka.
She said: \u201cI just feel Iga [Swiatek] and Aryna have played that tournament so many times, and it wasn\u2019t anything personal to it.
\u201cIt\u2019s tough. We\u2019re trying our best to play the calendar.
\u201cI completely understand why she [Sabalenka] would feel like that \u200bbecause the comments were unnecessary.\u201d\"Coco<\/picture>Novak Djokovic and Emma Raducanu are the biggest of over 20 names to have thus far withdrawn from the 2026 Miami Open.<\/a>
Illness has been cited as the reason for the latter pulling out while Djokovic has a shoulder injury.\u00a0No 4 seed Lorenzo Musetti is the latest star to withdraw due to an arm injury.
He was due to be in action on Friday with most top-ranked players do not kick off their respective campaigns until latter rounds.
Emma Navarro and Sonay Kartal are just two others that will not be competing in the Florida-based tournament.\"Novak<\/picture>The Miami Open follows almost immediately on from Indian Wells, a tournament won on the men’s side by Jannik Sinner.
The Italian beat Daniel Medvedev in the final last Sunday and in case you missed it, we saw an interaction between Sinner andd Carlos Alcaraz with the latter showing his true colours.
As captured by Tennis TV<\/a>, the pair reunited at what looked to be a practive changeover in Miami with Alcaraz stating: Hey, great stuff champ, congrats.”\u00a0\"Alcaraz<\/picture>As stated yesterday evening, Express Sport are back to cover the Miami Open following the postponement of all matches last night due to the weather.
A busy Thursday in the United States is therefore on the way with 12 first round proper matches scheduled!
For all the latest updates on action and other Tennis news, don’t go anywhere…
It’s official, it’s a washout at the Miami Open.
Organisers have just confirmed that Sessions 3 and 4 for Wednesday 18th (the day and night sessions) have been cancelled, and that all matches will be rescheduled.
Impacted ticket holders will receive an email with next steps. Express Sport<\/em> has outlined the ticket policy in a post below.
We’ll be back to keep you updated with all of Thursday’s action at the Hard Rock Stadium, no doubt it will now be a busy one!
With the day session now entirely cancelled on Wednesday at the Miami Open, organisers have confirmed that ticket holders will receive an email with next steps.
The Miami Open website states the following RE the ticket policy.
For Grandstand and grounds pass ticket holders, “when the day session is ended before the completion of one match (no completed matches)” … due to inclement weather”, ticket holders are eligible for exchange as provided in the Ticket Exchange Policy.
The policy states: “If a Miami Open session is cancelled (as provided for in the Cancellation Provisions below), tickets can be exchanged for a one-for-one basis for this year’s Miami Open (2026), subject to availability.”\"Miami<\/picture>Organisers of the Miami Open have now confirmed that Wednesday’s day session has been cancelled entirely.
The night session, featuring Venus Williams vs Francesca Jones and Matteo Berrettini vs Alexandre Muller, is still expected to go ahead. These will take place not before 7pm local time \/ 11pm GMT.
Update as of 6:15pm. pic.twitter.com\/jNpead5Gtr<\/a>
Matches were expected to start now, 6pm local time and 10pm GMT, on all courts except Grandstand.
However, they’re all still looking damp and there’s no sign of the players. We’ll keep you updated when a new start time is announced.
The night session on Grandstand is expected to get underway at 7pm local time \/ 11pm GMT.
No. 4 seed Lorenzo Musetti has withdrawn from the Miami Open, citing an arm injury.
The Italian was forced to retire mid-match at January’s Australian Open, when he got hurt while leading Novak Djokovic by two-sets-to-love in the quarter-finals.
Musetti returned to competition in Indian Wells earlier this month but lost his opening match. And he is now out of Miami, where he received a bye into the second round and wasn’t due to play his first match until later this week.
Read more here<\/strong><\/a>
Most big tennis tournaments have roofs over the centre court, sometimes over the second-biggest stages, too.
But there are no roofs at the Miami Open, and organisers have struggled so far this year. First, WTA qualifying was cancelled over the weekend.
Now, day two of the WTA main draw and day one of the ATP event has been affected by the rain. Most matches on Wednesday have been cancelled. It’s currently 5.23pm local time in Miami, and there has been no play at all so far.
So why does the Miami Open not have a roof? The answer is simple, the tournament relocated to the Hard Rock Stadium in 2019. It’s not a permanent tennis venue, the Hard Rock is home to the Miami Dolphins. The Miami Grand Prix also happens around the site. That means organisers of the tennis tournament have no chance of building a roof for the two-week event.
Play has been pushed back again, and matches will not start before 6pm local time \/ 10pm GMT.
The Grandstand night session is set to begin at 7pm local \/ 11pm GMT.\"Miami<\/picture>A new order of play has been released for the Miami Open. There are now just 14 matches on the schedule, and some which had previously been removed are now back on the list.
The Grandstand night session is set to start at 7pm local time (11pm GMT) as planned, featuring Venus Williams vs Francesca Jones, and Alexandre Muller vs Matteo Berrettini.
The matches on other courts due to start not before 5pm local time are: Denis Shapovalov vs Botic van de Zandschulp; Viktorija Golubic vs Peyton Stearns; Eva Lys vs Yuliia Starodubtseva; Reilly Opelka vs Nuno Borges; Emiliana Arango vs Oksana Selekhmeteva; Alycia Parks vs Sinja Kraus; Dalma Galfi vs Elvina Kalieva; Lilli Tagger vs Ella Seidel; Giovanno Mpetshi Perricard vs Camilo Ugo Carabelli; Darja Semenistaja vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto; Anastasia Zakharova vs Anna Bondar; Tereza Valentova vs Katie Volynets.
There will be no play at the Miami Open until 5pm local time \/ 9pm GMT. 
Some matches have already been removed from Wednesday’s schedule. These are listed here<\/a>.
Jamie Murray, the former doubles world No. 1 and current tournament director of the ATP 500 event at the Queen\u2019s Club, was in Sky Sports\u2019 commentary booth on Wednesday, expecting to call matches.
That didn\u2019t quite go to plan, with play delayed due to rain. As a tournament director, he knows how these delays work. And with some matches now cancelled and postponed until tomorrow, Murray explained what fans could expect from Thursday\u2019s schedule in Miami.
\u201cIt probably depends on how many match courts they can put in play tomorrow. On the schedule today, they\u2019ve got eight courts. They might have the potential to do 10 or 11 courts. It also depends on how many are set up for electronic line calling, hawkeye, all the sort of stuff as well. We\u2019ll see, but there\u2019s going to be a lot of matches for sure,\u201d he said.
\u201cI think, ideally, they\u2019ll try to get through everything just so that they\u2019re back on track and players aren\u2019t necessarily having to play back-to-back or even double up on one day. I think they\u2019re far away from that. The good thing is there are a lot of days in the tournament as well. They\u2019re not playing five-set matches as well for the guys, so for them to play back-to-back three-setters, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s much of an issue. And, to be honest, I think half the draw would rather be doing that anyway! I don\u2019t think they like the days off.\u201d\"Overend<\/picture>There will be no play at the Miami Open until at least 4pm local time \/ 8pm GMT.
Some matches have now been cancelled for the day. Venus Williams’ clash with British No. 4 Francesca Jones is no longer on the schedule.
On the ATP side, the following matches have been cancelled for the day:
Ethan Quinn vs Hubert Hurkacz
Alexandre Muller vs Matteo Berrettini
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Arthur Fery
Marcos Giron vs Martin Landaluce
Darwin Blanch vs Jan Lennard Struff
Nikoloz Basilashvili vs Mariano Navone
Six WTA matches have also been removed from the schedule but there are two empty ‘WTA Match’ slot on the schedule.
Read the full list of affected matches here<\/strong><\/a>
Play has yet to get underway on Wednesday, but the WTA main draw kicked off yesterday, and British No. 3 Katie Boulter booked her spot in the second round with a 7-6(9) 6-4 win over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
It was \u201crevenge\u201d for Boulter, who lost to the Spaniard at the US Open a couple of years ago, while she was the 31st seed. After beating Bouzas Maneiro in Miami, Boulter told Sky Sports: \u201cThat kind of stung me and I wanted revenge.
\u201cIt was the first thing I thought of when I saw the draw. I actually let that one get away from me, but I know how good a player she is and I felt like the level and quality of our tennis tonight was good, but really pleased with the way I played today.\u201d
It looks like the rain has stopped in Miami – at least for now! Pictures show the courts looking nice and dry around the Hard Rock Stadium, but play is still not scheduled to resume for about 40 minutes.
Sky Sports cameras showed some players practising on the damp courts, while others warmed up on the players’ grass around the stadium. “Here are some shots behind the scenes. It has stopped raining, it’s starting to brighten up a little bit, and as you can see, some players are actually hitting [on] these rather damp match courts,” Jonathan Overend said on commentary.\"Miami<\/picture>Coco Gauff retired mid-match in Indian Wells last week and said it felt like a \u201cfirework was going off in [her] arm\u201d. She suspected it was a nerve problem and planned to get an MRI scan \u2013 and the scan confirmed her suspicions. The 22-year-old has given an update on the injury as she prepares to compete in Miami Open, having considered skipping the tournament altogether.
\u201cIt was a nerve thing, like I said immediately after the match. Every day is different. But for the most part, I\u2019ll be fine playing this tournament. I may feel it sometimes on court, but I definitely feel it less and less every day, if that makes sense,\u201d she explained.
\u201cThe goal was to play this tournament. There was a thought of skipping it. I think if it wasn\u2019t Miami, I would probably skip this tournament. But the fact that it is, I really wanted to play here.\u201d
Read the full story here<\/strong><\/a>\"BNP<\/picture>Matches are being staged across Grandstand, Butch Buchholz, Court 1, Court 7, Court 5, Court 2, Court 3, and Court 6 today, with the main Stadium court out of action.
Play has been delayed to at least 3pm local time \/ 7pm GMT. Here is who will take to the court for the first matches of the day in Miami:
GRANDSTAND<\/strong>
Jennifer Brady vs Sloane Stephens
BUTCH BUCHHOLZ<\/strong>
Denis Shapovalos vs Botic van de Zandschulp
COURT 1<\/strong>
Dayana Yastremska vs Ashlyn Krueger
COURT 7<\/strong>
Emiliana Arango vs Oksana Selekhmeteva
COURT 5<\/strong>
Janice Tjen vs Yulia Puntintseva
COURT 2<\/strong>
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs Camilo Ugo Carabelli
COURT 3<\/strong>
Zhizhen Zhang vs Adrian Mannarino
COURT 6<\/strong>
Elena-Gabriela Ruse vs Antonia Ruzic
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The players may not be on the courts in Miami, but they have still been able to speak to the press during the pre-tournament media days. And world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who is fresh off the back of a title win in Indian Wells, has threatened to skip one particular WTA 1000 tournament.
The Belarusian was expected to compete in Dubai last month, even turning up to the tournament site and practising, but ultimately withdrew, citing a hip injury. World No. 3 Iga Swiatek also withdrew, and at the time, tournament director Salah Tahlak told The National that the two players should be punished for skipping the event. \u201cThe reasons for withdrawal were a bit strange. Iga said she wasn\u2019t mentally ready to compete, while Sabalenka said she has some minor injuries,\u201d he said.
Sabalenka has now responded, and says she may never compete in Dubai again. \u201cHis comment was ridiculous. I’m not sure if I ever want to go there after his comment. For \u200cme it’s too much,\u201d she said in Miami.
Read the full story here<\/strong><\/a>
Play at the Miami Open is currently delayed due to rain.
Most matches were scheduled to start at 11am local time \/ 3pm GMT, while Grandstand had a later start time of 12pm local \/ 4pm GMT.
However, no players have taken to the courts so far on Wednesday and matches continue to be postponed thanks to the unruly weather.
The latest update is no play before 3pm local time \/ 7pm GMT.
Currently, all scheduled matches are still expected to be played today. However, if delays continue, some may be pushed back to tomorrow.\"Miami<\/picture>SEARCH
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The Miami Open – the second half of the ‘Sunshine Double’ after Indian Wells – is underway. The WTA main draw started on Tuesday, while the ATP main draw is set to begin on Wednesday. But the tournament has been rocked by rain delays all week, and that remained the case on Wednesday.Play was expected […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2872","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}