Stephens earns first WTA main-draw win of latest comeback

Sloane Stephens defeated Jennifer Brady 6–4, 6–2 in Miami for her first WTA main-draw victory in nearly two years. The eighty-five-minute first-round match brought together American players rebuilding after lengthy injury absences, with Stephens returning from a right-foot stress fracture.

Stephens saved all six break points she faced, landed seventy-two percent of first serves and broke Brady three times. Their first professional meeting was also the first WTA 1000 match between two players ranked outside the top five hundred since the category began.

The 2018 Miami champion said she was prepared to play qualifying and smaller events to rebuild her ranking. She had already qualified for the Australian Open earlier in the season. The win set up a second-round meeting with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.