Miami Qualifiers: Yuan Yue, Bu Yunchaoke, and Huang Zelin Secure Opening Wins, Aim for Main Draw Tonight at 23:00

On March 16 local time, the 2026 ATP/WTA1000 Miami qualifiers commenced, with Yuan Yue, Bu Yunchaoke, and Huang Zelin all successfully claiming opening victories on the first day. The qualifiers were originally scheduled to start on March 15, but adverse weather conditions forced a one-day postponement of the first round.

Yuan Yue (Photo: Visual China)

As the No.23 seed in the women's singles qualifiers, Yuan Yue faced wildcard player Brantmeier in the first round, who is the NCAA women's singles champion from the University of North Carolina. In this match, Yuan Yue missed an opportunity to serve out the first set, then squandered multiple set points after leading 6-1 in the tie-break, ultimately losing the set 6-7(6). In the second set, Yuan Yue regained her offensive rhythm and secured a crucial break late in the set to win 6-4 and level the match. In the deciding set, she completely dominated, achieving two breaks to win 6-2 and complete the comeback. Yuan Yue will now compete against top seed Birrell for a main draw spot in the second round; Birrell advanced by defeating Tomova 6-3/6-2. This match will take place on Court 1 at 23:00 Beijing time tonight.

In other women's singles matches, former US Open champion Andreescu narrowly reversed 20th seed Lamens 4-6/6-1/7-5 and will vie for a main draw place against 10th seed Volynets. 12th seed Sun Lulu overcame Timofeeva 6-4/7-6(5), while 14th seed Vekic defeated Osigwe 6-4/6-2; the two winners will face each other in the next round.

Bu Yunchaoke (Photo: Li Jianyi)

Bu Yunchaoke's first-round opponent was 20th seed Skurkett, whom he led 1-0 in their previous encounters. In the opening set, Bu Yunchaoke seized the sole break point in the 11th game, winning three consecutive games to take the set 7-5. In the second set, he also secured an early break in the 7th game. Although the match was interrupted by rain before his service game to close the match, he successfully held serve upon resumption to seal the victory 6-4.

This marks Bu Yunchaoke's first singles win of the season; he previously exited in his debut at the ATP Hong Kong qualifiers, the Australian Open main draw, and also failed to secure a win in the Davis Cup. Bu Yunchaoke will face British player Ferry in the second round, having won their only prior meeting. Ferry advanced by reversing 10th seed Brugacha 2-6/6-4/6-4 in the first round. This match will be held on Court 4 at 23:00 Beijing time tonight.

Huang Zelin (Photo: Li Jianyi)

Men's singles qualifier 21st seed Huang Zelin successfully weathered the challenge from British player Pennington, battling for 2 hours and 41 minutes to reverse the match 5-7/7-6(4)/6-4. He will compete in the second round on Court 3 at 23:00 Beijing time tonight, facing top seed Buse for a main draw spot. Last year, Huang Zelin, participating via a wildcard in the main draw, produced a career-best performance by successively eliminating Altmaier and Shelton to reach the third round; this year he faces significant pressure to defend those points.

ATP/WTA1000 Miami Qualifiers Draw Updated

（Text, Editor: Dato）