10 Things We Learned from Indian Wells and Miami

The Sunshine Double is into the books and now it is on to the clay! Before we totally immerse ourselves into the red stuff, let’s take a look back at a momentous month of tennis from Indian Wells and Miami. 

Don’t forget about Sinner 

In our what-have-you-done-for-me-lately, recency-biased reality, two months without a title is an extraordinarily long time. Long enough to write a tennis obituary for a 24-year-old wunderkind who has done nothing but grow, grow and grow over the last three years 

Guess what? Jannik Sinner is still growing, and his hard court domination, which was temporarily derailed in Australia by Novak Djokovic, is still intact. 

With his breathtaking romp through the Sunshine Double – the first man to win it without dropping a single set – Sinner has reminded us that he’s still very much in the mix for the No.1 ranking and winning more major titles. 

Aryna Coming of Age? 

What was stunning about Aryna Sabalenka’s Sunshine double run was the fact that she was able to stare down the demons of previous finals to assert herself in the biggest moments against the toughest competition. We knew she was going to give herself chances to win both titles this March, but we weren’t sure she’d deliver such poise in the key moments of the final. Her championship point save against Rybakina in the Indian Wells final was the stuff of dreams, and her defeat of Gauff, despite losing a difficult second set to a player who has had her number in big finals, shows how far she has come. 

Now, can she carry that form over to major finals? 

Don’t worry about Carlitos? 

Alcaraz went 0 for 2 at Indian Wells and Miami, in terms of winning titles, but a slight dip in form seems only natural after he started the season in blistering form, winning his first 16 matches. Nothing to worry about here, and expect a reinvigorated Spaniard the moment he hits the clay. 

Mboko’s got next? 

Back-to-back quarterfinals in Indian Wells and Miami tell you all you need to know about 19-year-old Victoria Mboko. A student of the game, a dedicated and mature pro, she’s soaking in these experiences like a sponge, and proving to herself with each passing week that she belongs. Based on what we’ve seen, she hasn’t even begun to touch her potential, but already seems extremely adept at putting consistent results on the board. 

Fils a Factor 

He’s now two months into his comeback from a debilitating stress fracture in his back and already Arthur Fils is looking like a can’t miss kind once again. Back-to-back quarterfinals in Indian Wells and Miami, filled with memorable moments – please say you didn’t miss the Frenchman saving four consecutive match points against Tommy Paul in Miami – remind us that the next great French showman is already here. Now to stay healthy, and keep winning. 

Talia Who? 

HA ha, it’s Gibson, and we all remember the name after the Aussie qualified at both Indian Wells and Miami, then earned seven Top-50 wins as she reached quarterfinals at both events. 

Gibson, who plays big and packs massive power, has unlocked something in her game. Next challenge? To keep it unlocked. We’ll see a lot more of her now that she’s entered the Top 10 and finished the month at No.56 – the No. 2-ranked Aussie woman? 

Fritz’s knee on the fritz? 

Here’s one thing that we both learned and didn’t learn about Taylor Fritz’s knee during March: is it going to hold up for the long haul or is the American pushing too hard in the pursuit of short term ranking goals? We learned more, as every time Fritz opens up about the subject we get a better idea of how he sees the season playing out, and we found out that Fritz, who reached the third round at Indian Wells and the fourth round at Miami, has pulled out of Monte-Carlo to rest. 

The top-ranked American man is still No. 8 in the world, and only has 270 points to defend from her to Roland-Garros. A perfect time to pull out of the race for a bit? 

Medvedev can still be a force 

His win over Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells and his strong performance against Jannik Sinner in the final told the story: Daniil Medvedev still has plenty to give. He’s back in the Top 10 and – truth be told – looked like a Top 5 player during his Indian Wells run. 

Iga’s got a mountain to climb 

Now at No.4 in the rankings – and No. 11 in the race! – it’s clear that Iga Swiatek has her work cut out for her this spring. The Pole has become a bit of a non-factor at the top of the women’s game in 2026, with zero titles and a 12-6 overall record. It will be extremely interesting to see how the queen of clay performs on her favorite surface, and who she hires to replace recently fired Wim Fissette as her coach. 

Will clay be the tonic for Iga, as it so often has in her career? Or will she feel the pressure to perform and sink even lower? 

Doubles and the Double 

Let’s not sleep on the tremendous achievement of Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova on the doubles court in March. They became the sixth team to win the Sunshine Double, beating 

Ten-time Grand Slam doubles champion Siniakova won her first title in Miami – so did Townsend. 

On to the clay!