The big news this week is Ash Barty’s retirement.

At 25, and with three Grand Slams under her belt, she’s called it quits. I’m sure we’ll learn more about her reasons for retiring soon. In the meantime, this makes the Miami Open and any other major tournament a heck of a lot more interesting. Barty was dominating when she was in any draw. With her absence, the WTA will be fighting it out for dominance.

At the Miami Open, the number one seed will be Aryna Sabalenka, a player with absolutely 0 big titles to her name. That can’t be said about Iga Swiatek though, who was as dominant at Indian Wells as she looked when she won the 2020 French Open and will be the number two seed. Rounding out the field will be a host of talented players all hungry for an important title such as this one. You have Anett Kontaveit as the number three seed followed by Maria Sakkari at number four.

Swiatek and Kontaveit have the best chance out of the top four seeds. They have proven week in and week out that they are the most consistent players on the tour right now. Rounding out the top eight are Badosa, (5) who is also extremely dangerous, Pliskova (6) who hasn’t played much, Muguruza (7), who is always dangerous, and Jabeur (8), a joy to watch but never a real threat at a big tournament.

Outside the top eight seeds Halep (26), Anisimova, Collins (9), and Svitolina (18) are very dangerous floaters. Also on display will be Raducanu (13) and Fernandez (18), two players that tend to put up great results at big tournaments.

Look for Swiatek to be in this final, and possibly capture her second straight big title.

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