Grand Slam champions Petra Kvitova and Sloane Stephens lead the slate of seven main-draw wild cards for this year's Miami Open, which begins on March 18.
Two-time Wimbledon winner Kvitova, who gave birth to son Petr last July, returned from an 18-month maternity leave last week in Austin. The 34-year-old fell to Jodie Burrage 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round and will continue her comeback this week in Indian Wells. In Kvitova's last Miami appearance in 2023, she won the tournament for the first time, defeating Elena Rybakina 7-6(14), 6-2 in the final. The former No. 2 is currently unranked.
Stephens, a former Miami champion who defeated Jelena Ostapenko in the 2018 final, is looking to end an eight-month slump at this year’s Sunshine Double. The 2017 US Open champion is currently ranked No. 119 and on a 10-match losing streak dating back to Wimbledon.
Four rising teenagers have also been awarded Miami wild cards. Alexandra Eala, 19, was the 2022 US Open girls' champion, and became the first Filipina to win a WTA 1000 main-draw match in Madrid last year. She is currently ranked No. 140 after starting the year with a semifinal run at the Canberra WTA 125.
Victoria Mboko, 18, has enjoyed a spectacular start to 2025. The Canadian opened the year with a 22-match, 43-set winning streak encompassing four ITF titles in Le Lamentin, Martinique; Petit-Bourg, Guadeloupe; Rome, Georgia; and Manchester, United Kingdom. Mboko's run was ended by Raluka Serban in Macon last week, but her ranking has rocketed from No. 333 to No. 188 in just two months. She will play in her second WTA main draw after making her debut as a wild card at Granby in 2022.
Japan's Sayaka Ishii, 19, compiled a 48-24 record over the course of last year, including a run to the Tokyo quarterfinals as a qualifier in October. Ranked No. 474 at the start of 2024, she is now at No. 206. Ishii is part of a wave of young Japanese talent currently threatening to break through, also including the unorthodox 20-year-old Aoi Ito and the powerful 17-year-old Australian Open junior champion Wakana Sonobe.
Tyra Caterina Grant, 16, is a three-time junior Grand Slam doubles champion, and in recent months, she has been surging at pro level as well. The American won her first ITF W50 title last November in Selva Gardena, Italy and opened 2025 by reaching the Porto ITF W75 semifinals and Porto ITF W50 final -- defeating former Top 50 players Ana Konjuh and Anna-Lena Friedsam along the way. Grant has cut her ranking from No. 918 to No. 414 in the past four months and is the third-highest ranked player born in 2008 (following Emerson Jones and Laura Samson).
Former No. 32 Ajla Tomljanovic rounds out the main-draw wild cards. The 31-year-old Australian returned to the Top 100 this week at No. 94 after reaching last week's Austin semifinals.
Click here to view the full Miami main-draw entry list.
