Danielle Collins backs one American to make a deep run at the Miami Open
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The 2026 Miami Open is in full swing, and a handful of American women are hoping to make their mark on the second leg of the Sunshine Double.
Jessica Pegula, seeded fifth, has been in good form recently. After reaching the quarterfinals in Indian Wells, she’s now aiming for her second WTA 1000 title of the year, having already picked up a win in Dubai.
Coco Gauff will be hoping for a fresh start as well after an early exit from Indian Wells derailed her campaign there. She comes into Miami looking to regain some momentum.
Pegula and Gauff are seeded fourth and fifth at the Miami Open and are widely seen as strong contenders among the American players in this year’s draw.
But according to Danielle Collins, Amanda Anisimova is the one who could cause a surprise. “Amanda could do it too. I think Amanda really enjoys playing here,” Collins said after her opening-round victory over Jaqueline Cristian on Thursday.
Danielle Collins names the local player she thinks could surprise in Miami
Collins was asked during a Tennis Channel segment which American woman she believes will have the strongest run in Miami and gave her answer after a moment of thought.
“Ok, speaking of home court advantage, Anisimova lives just about 20 to 30 minutes away from here,” she replied.
“This is her home tournament as well. I think she would love to have a good result here. I could see her going pretty far in Miami.”
Anisimova has never made it past the fourth round at Miami, but did get to that stage last year before losing to Emma Raducanu.
This year, the American came into the tournament off a one-sided win over Raducanu at Indian Wells, where she won 6-1, 6-1.
How Amanda Anisimova has performed so far in 2026
Anisimova hasn’t hit the heights she did last year, when she had the best season of her career, and she’s still waiting to reach a final in 2026.
Her season began at the Brisbane International, where she made it to the third round before being eliminated.
At the Australian Open, Anisimova put together a strong run to the quarterfinals but ran into Pegula, who proved too much for her on that occasion.
She then retired from her opening match in Doha but followed up with her deepest run of the year so far by reaching the semifinals – though once again, it was Pegula who stopped her.
Indian Wells saw another early exit for Anisimova as she lost to 19-year-old Victoria Mboko.
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