Shelby Rogers has defeated several big names in the women’s tournament during her career, but the match won against Czech Linda Fruchtvirtova was very special for the 31-year-old American.

Shelby RogersPhoto: Rebecca Blackwell/AP/Profimedia

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After 11 months, Shelby Rogers won her first WTA main draw victory

The American’s last success in the main draw of WTA competitions was achieved on April 27, 2023, when she defeated Ana Bohdan in Madrid.

Next, Iryna Begu (Madrid), Linda Noskova (Rome), Petra Martic (Roland Garros), Camila Osorio (Eastbourne) and Olena Rybakina (Wimbledon) were defeated.

Rodgers sat out the second half of the 2023 season after undergoing the second knee surgery of his career.

Back on court earlier in the year, Shelby suffered a loss to Emma Redukan at the Australian Open before only playing in qualifying in Austin, winning a match against Arianna Hartono before suffering another injury in the second set against Olivia Gadecki.

At the Miami Open on Wednesday, Rogers (WTA No. 325) defeated Linda Fruchtwirtova (WTA No. 138 / 18-year-old wildcard) in three sets to end an 11-month wait. After the last point, the American released the racket from her hand and cried with happiness.

“I’m not getting any younger, so every match I play now is really special. Recovery is hard, coming back and all these players are so good – and they’re about half my age! I just love sports so much and all I wanted to do today was go out and enjoy the competition” – Shelby Rogers.

This is Rogers’ first win as a married woman. Last spring, John Slavick proposed to her at a tournament in her hometown of Charleston, and the wedding took place in December.

  • In the second round, Shelby will play against Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (21st seed).

Over the years, Shelby Rogers has defeated several top players: Naomi Osaka, Maria Sakkari (three times each), Elena Rybakina, Petra Kvitova, Anette Kontaveit, Bianca Andreescu, Sofia Kenin, Jelena Ostapenko (twice each), Serena Williams, Carolina Plishkov , Caroline Wozniacki, Ashley Barty, Sloane Stevens (once each).

The WTA 1000 category tournament will be held in Miami from March 19 to 31. Played on hard court, the main draw features 128 players and a total prize pool of $8,995,555. The champion of the overall title is Petra Kvitova (she is pregnant and will not participate in this year’s edition).