Elena Rybakina recovered from a first-set loss to beat Jessica Pegula 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and advance to the Miami Open semifinals. The third seed completed the comeback in two hours and 15 minutes at Hard Rock Stadium, recording a fourth straight victory over the No. 5 seed.

The win sets up a possible rematch with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who was scheduled to play her quarterfinal Wednesday evening against Hailey Baptiste. Rybakina’s progression marks her third WTA semifinal of the 2026 season.

Rybakina arrived in Miami off a runner-up finish at the BNP Paribas Open, where she came within a point of defeating Sabalenka. That narrow loss did not halt momentum that began at the end of last season when she captured the WTA Finals title in Riyadh. She reached the Miami quarterfinals without dropping a set.

Pegula, the American home favorite, had been a familiar opponent. She fell in straight sets to Rybakina last week at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and had also lost to her in Riyadh and in the Australian Open semifinals. The Miami quarterfinal opened badly for Pegula, who raced to a 4-0 lead and closed out the first set 6-2.

The match shifted early in the second set when Pegula held three break points in the fifth game but could not convert. Rybakina then won seven of the next eight games to level the match and earned a 2-0 lead in the decider.

The third set was tightly contested. Pegula saved three break points in the fifth game and pressed again on Rybakina’s serve, but Rybakina answered, saving a break point of her own and finishing the match on a match point created by a strong serve-forehand combination. Her final point came on a service winner, sealing the comeback and a place in the semifinals.

Episode 13 of The Big T podcast turned its attention to a wide range of Miami Open talk, from an extravagant concession item to shifts in the top ranks and the progress of emerging players.

First, the culinary curiosity. For $100, fans could buy an Australian Wagyu sausage topped with crème fraîche, Golden Goat Caviar and edible gold flakes, a creation dubbed the Golden Glizzy. Hosts Andrea Petkovic and Mark Petchey weighed in on the dish and the tournament atmosphere in the episode.

On the women’s side, the conversation focused on Iga Swiatek. Less than a year after claiming her first Wimbledon title with a 6-0, 6-0 final, Swiatek has split with coach Wim Fissette. The six-time Grand Slam champion is 13-9 in her last 22 matches and has not reached a semifinal since last September in Seoul. Her opening-round loss to compatriot Magda Linette in Miami appeared to prompt the change.

Petkovic reflected on that decision in the episode: “Sometimes, I’m connected to witchcraft,” she began, “because I predicted last year that Iga was going to win Wimbledon … and last year I was on a show in Germany, and they asked me to give my hottest take about tennis. And I said I think Wim Fissette and Iga Swiatek will not make it through Indian Wells-Miami.

“It was just an intuition that came upon me.”

Joao Fonseca’s two straight-set losses to Jannik Sinner (7-6, 7-6 at Indian Wells) and Carlos Alcaraz (6-4, 6-4 in Miami) were framed as valuable tests for the 19-year-old. Petkovic said, “That is the ideal scenario for a young guy like him,” Petkovic says of the 19-year-old. “He can now go back home, look at the tape of the matches and say, this is where they are still better, or this is what I still need to work on—and come on the clay and absolutely crush.”

Petchey added context and a note of caution: “This was a great learning curve, for him to play those two stars,” Petchey agreed. He also warned Fonseca’s many fanatics with another comment: “I still feel as though we need to temper our enthusiasm, of how quickly he may be in the world’s Top 10, and really in amongst it against Carlos and Jannik. I think it’s going to take 18 months to two years before he’s comfortably feeling—particularly in a best-of-five—that he’s got a realistic shot of winning.”

The episode also highlighted 18-year-old Iva Jovic, who rose from No. 191 at the 2025 Australian Open by winning the USTA Wild Card Playoff and later reached the Australian Open quarterfinals, moving into the Top 20. Jovic said simply, “I love talking, in general,” says another teenage tennis sensation, Iva Jovic. She reflected on travel and growth: “I’ve done a lot of great training, and played some tough matches after Australia, but I think I learned a lot from it. I’m happy with where I’m at.” She added a candid note about life off court: “I’m a little bit clumsy, and all over the place outside of the court,” she admitted. “I lose everything, that’s my thing—I can’t keep track of my things. I oversleep sometimes, I’ve overslept on match days!

“Hopefully one day, I can be as responsible and mature as I sound.”

Episode 13 is available on major streaming platforms for listeners who want the full discussion and extra segments.

Carlos Alcaraz’s third-round loss to Sebastian Korda at the Miami Open prompted questions about the Spaniard’s form, but Rafael Nadal dismissed the idea that the result signals a crisis.

The 22-year-old bowed out in Miami for the second year running. His 2026 record stands at 17–2, yet Nadal told reporters in Madrid on Tuesday that criticism is exaggerated. “I mean, when he’s just come off winning the Australian Open, he’s won seven Grand Slams, he’s No. 1 in the world… So, what? Is he supposed to win all of the matches of the year?” Nadal told press. “That’s never going to happen. So there’s your answer.”

Alcaraz’s Sunshine Swing had mixed results. He reached the semifinals in Indian Wells before being upset by No. 11 seed Daniil Medvedev. In Miami he won one match, a high-profile victory over Joao Fonseca, then fell in three sets to No. 32 Sebastian Korda, a result described as the American’s biggest career win.

Nadal argued that a title-less March should not erase Alcaraz’s achievements earlier in the season. The Spaniard captured the Australian Open, becoming the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam, won an ATP 500 title in Doha, retained the world No. 1 ranking and extended a 16-match unbeaten run that ended at Indian Wells. “Are we really going to worry about two defeats? I don’t think so,” Nadal said. “That doesn’t make sense, and we shouldn’t demand more from him.”

Nadal, who received an honorary doctorate for excellence in sport from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, reflected on the pressures placed on young players in Spain and urged perspective. “I think what we all have to do is just congratulate Carlos and thank him for everything that he’s accomplishing,” he said. “In the end, he’s bringing a number of achievements to Spanish sport that, maybe 25 or 30 years ago, we wouldn’t have imagined…

“Maybe we’ve all gotten too used to it. But I’ve never lost perspective on how difficult the things are that Carlos is doing—or any athlete from Spain, or any other country.”