After being absent from professional tennis for 568 days due to a shortened doping suspension, Simona Halep made her return to the sport. She faced a challenging and exhausting match against Paula Badosa of Spain in the first round of the Miami Open, ultimately losing 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Despite the loss, the retired top-ranked player’s performance indicates progress towards returning to the highest level of competition. Halep’s return to the court was delayed due to her positive drug test for roxadustat after her loss to Daria Snigur in the opening round of the 2022 US Open.
Halep was first given a four-year suspension due to the use of a prohibited substance and discrepancies in her athlete blood test results. However, the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) recently lessened the punishment, as they found Halep did not purposely engage in doping. Cas has yet to provide a full explanation for their decision to shorten the suspension to nine months.
At the beginning of her match against Badosa, Halep was understandably anxious and made two double faults in her first service game. However, she soon regained her composure and took advantage of her superior consistency, agility, and depth to break Badosa’s serve early and easily win the first set.
Despite Badosa’s impressive status as a former world No 2 player, the Spaniard has faced difficulties due to injuries in the past year, specifically a recurring back injury. It was evident from the start that her lack of confidence hindered her performance, as she made several unforced errors in the first set. However, she was able to improve as the match progressed. While Halep maintained a consistent game from the baseline, her 33-year-old opponent struggled with her serving and Badosa capitalized on this in the second set.
Unable to adapt to the high level of tennis after a lengthy absence, Halep requested a medical break for shoulder pain before Badosa won the second set at 5-4. As Halep became more exhausted and struggled during the intense final set, Badosa secured an early lead and bravely held on despite experiencing discomfort in her right foot towards the end of the match.
Halep’s attention will now shift to the clay court season, during which she will use wildcards to participate at the highest level. After spending over a year away from competition, the Romanian athlete is now unranked upon her return, having held the No. 7 spot in August 2022. Unlike with injuries or maternity leave, the WTA prohibits players from utilizing protected rankings when coming back from being banned for doping.
As a previous top-ranked player and winner of a grand slam, Halep will be granted an unlimited number of wildcards as she returns to competitive play. This is in contrast to the regular limit of three wildcards for both the main draw and qualifying rounds. Given her impressive title and the attention her comeback will bring, it is unlikely that Halep will have any trouble securing these wildcards from tournaments.
On Thursday, Badosa is set to compete against Aryna Sabalenka, who is the second seed and was recently crowned the Australian Open champion. Unfortunately, Sabalenka’s partner, former hockey player Konstantin Koltsov, passed away tragically in Miami on Monday. Due to her recent loss, Sabalenka did not attend the tournament’s media day on Tuesday, but she was seen practicing in Miami on Tuesday afternoon and it seems that she plans to participate in the tournament.
Source: theguardian.com
