Svitolina, Paolini and Jovic swept aside as Baptiste, Ostapenko and Gibson light up Miami

Three seeded players fell in the women’s draw at the Miami Open presented by Itau on Sunday evening as American Hailey Baptiste, Latvian Jelena Ostapenko and Australian Talia Gibson each produced performances that will define their seasons.

Baptiste ends Svitolina’s remarkable winning run

Baptiste, ranked No. 45, beat Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, the ninth seed, 6-3, 7-5 to reach the fourth round for the first time in Miami. It was only the second top 10 win of her career – her first came against No. 10 Barbora Krejcikova at Wuhan in 2024 — and it arrived against a player who had won more matches than any other woman on tour this season.

Svitolina, ranked No. 8, had beaten Australian Emerson Jones 6-2, 6-4 in the previous round and arrived as a heavy favourite. Baptiste had other ideas. She had already accounted for No. 19 seed Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 7-5 and German Tatjana Maria 7-5, 6-2 to reach this stage, and on Sunday she raised her level again. Baptiste will next face Ostapenko.

Ostapenko delivers another fearless performance against Paolini

Ostapenko, the 25th seed, beat Italian seventh seed Jasmine Paolini 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 in a match that swung repeatedly before the Latvian’s trademark aggression proved decisive. It was her 27th career win over a top 10 opponent and her second of 2026 alone – the kind of number that explains why, when Ostapenko is striking the ball cleanly, she is among the most dangerous players in the draw regardless of seeding.

She has history at this tournament. She reached the Miami final in 2018, and Sunday’s win puts her in the fourth round for the third time. Baptiste awaits.

Gibson’s extraordinary run since Indian Wells continues

The most remarkable story of the three belongs to Gibson. The Australian, ranked No. 44, beat Iva Jovic 6-2, 6-2 to reach the Miami fourth round – but the scoreline only tells part of it.

Since arriving at Indian Wells as a qualifier, Gibson has beaten five players ranked inside the top 20: No. 11 Alexandrova, No. 17 Tauson, No. 7 Paolini, No. 15 Osaka and No. 17 Jovic. Before Indian Wells, she had never reached a WTA 1000 fourth round. She has now done it in back-to-back tournaments, and the wins are not flukes – they are the work of a player whose level has shifted in a matter of weeks.

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