Rock legend Jon Bon Jovi hangs with Mboko, Swiatek at Miami Open

MIAMI — There was plenty of star power at the Miami Open on a rainy Wednesday, and we don’t just mean the top 10 players in the PIF WTA Rankings.

Rock icon Jon Bon Jovi was in the house at Hard Rock Stadium, and he took some time to meet and greet some of the top players on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.

The 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee had a sweet moment with World No. 9 Victoria Mboko, and also spoke with six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, whose eyes lit up at the sight of the legendary singer and songwriter.

“Legend!” the world No. 3, a noted music lover, wrote on Instagram. 

She added that Bon Jovi holds a special place in her heart, as she bought a vinyl copy of Bon Jovi’s 1986 album Slippery When Wet during her run to the third round in Toronto back in 2019.

This wasn’t Bon Jovi’s first visit to the WTA 1000 tournament. Last year the iconic frontman was in the stands — along with his son, Jake, and daughter-in-law Millie Bobby Brown — for the women’s semifinals. He was also in attendance the year before, and is a regular at the US Open.

He surely won’t be the last megastar spotted at the Miami Open, which kicked off on Tuesday and runs through March 29.

Both Swiatek and Mboko received byes into the second round. Swiatek, who won this tournament in 2022, will play Magda Linette in her opening match on Thursday. Mboko, playing this tournament for just the second time, will play Anna Blinkova on Thursday.

The top seed is Aryna Sabalenka, the defending champion in Miami. She’s looking to become the first WTA player to sweep the Sunshine Double since 2022 — when Swiatek did it — after winning the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells last week.