Mar 9, 2025; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Elena Rybakina (KAZ) hits a ball against Katie Boulter (GBR) at Indian Well Tennis Garden.

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Miami Open 2025 Upsets – Elena Rybakina, Daria Kasatkina Bow Out After Shock Defeats!

The seeds continue to tumble at the Miami Masters 2025.

Mar 9, 2025; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Elena Rybakina (KAZ) hits a ball against Katie Boulter (GBR) at Indian Well Tennis Garden.

The Round of 64 at the 2025 Miami Open saw some shocking upsets, as seventh seed Elena Rybakina and 12th seed Daria Kasatkina were toppled in the women’s draw. Americans Ashlyn Krueger and Hailey Baptiste were the giant slayers – both overcoming their higher ranked opponents in three sets.

Kasatkina walked onto Hard Rock Stadium with a determined look on Thursday, hoping to regain lost form after disappointing outings in Dubai and Indian Wells. After claiming the first set 6-3, she looked all set to make it through to the next round. However, World No. 98 Baptiste had other ideas.

The 23-year-old rising star from Washington began playing much better tennis in sets two and three, narrowly edging Kasatkina to the finish line. Under the scorching sun, she won 3-6 6-4 7-5 to book a spot in Round-3 – where she will face another tough opponent in the form of Naomi Osaka. This was Baptiste’s third career Top-20 victory, and a continuation of her rich vein of form (defeated Danilovic in Round-1).

Ashlyn Krueger Overjoyed as 7th Seed Rybakina Crashes Out in Miami

In a battle of big hitters, World No. 40 Ashlyn Krueger overcame a serving master class by former Wimbledon champion Rybakina. Having failed to grab a single set in her last six meetings with Top-10 opposition, Krueger defied the odds to win 6-4 2-6 6-4. It was a match that saw numerous gruesome forehand exchanges as well as a 22-point win streak on serve by the Kazakh.

“I knew there weren’t going to be a ton of long points,” the 20-year-old divulged in a post-match press conference. “So a lot of serves, first balls – [it was about] who was going to get on top of the point quicker.” Krueger, who has been nicknamed ‘Baby Rybakina’ by several fans and members of the media, chuckled at being told about it post her win.

Ashlyn's aiming high 🙌

After upsetting Rybakina at the #MiamiOpen Ashlyn Krueger said she wants to be ranked top 15 by the end of the season 👀 pic.twitter.com/ne3fYIzfpd
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) March 20, 2025

The Miami Open action continues on Friday, with several top players set to feature. The women’s final will be played on Saturday, 29 March.

Daria Kasatkina

Elena Rybakina

Miami Open

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.