India, March 22 -- Aryna Sabalenka, the World No.1, has been one of the biggest draws on the tour in recent years, often handed prime match slots to maximise crowd engagement. However, at the Miami Open 2026, the Belarusian had to temporarily give up that privilege following rain-induced scheduling chaos.

A delay to Carlos Alcaraz's highly anticipated clash against Brazilian prodigy Joao Fonseca forced organisers into reshuffling the schedule, with the match eventually moved to centre court. There were further disruptions, including Mirra Andreeva's fixture being slotted into Sabalenka's original time.

As a result, Sabalenka, fresh off her title run at Indian Wells Open, was shifted to the smaller Butch Buchholz Court. The organisers pr...