Back on the circuits after the reduction of her suspension for doping, the Romanian lost in three sets against the Spaniard Paula Badosa (1-6, 6-4, 6-3) Tuesday at the WTA 1000 in Miami.
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Former world number 1 Simona Halep, returning from a suspension for doping, lost against the Spaniard Paula Badosa (1-6, 6-4, 6-3) Tuesday March 19 in the first round of the WTA 1000 tournament of Miami (Florida), for her first match on the circuit since August 2022. The suspension for two anti-doping offenses of Simona Halep, 32, was reduced from four years to nine months two weeks ago by the Court of Arbitration for Sport , allowing her to be invited to Miami via a wild card.
The double Grand Slam winner (Roland-Garros 2018 and Wimbledon 2019) had not played on the circuit since a defeat in the first round of the US Open at the end of August 2022. For her return to the courts, the Romanian still caused a sensation by winning 6-1 in the first set, before giving in to the 80th in the world. Also back after having withdrawn from Indian Wells, Paula Badosa finally qualified in three sets for the 2nd round, where she will face her friend Aryna Sabalenka, in a special match.
Sabalenka presents in the second round despite the death of his companion
Exempted from the first round like all the top seeds, the Belarusian world number 2 learned on Monday of the death of her companion Konstantin Koltsov, former Belarusian professional hockey player, died “likely by suicide”, according to Miami-Dade County police, who say they were called by a Miami Beach hotel because “a man had jumped from a balcony”.
Despite the circumstances, Aryna Sabalenka (25), winner of the Australian Open in January, trained on Tuesday afternoon at the WTA 1000 site in Miami. Organizers said she had not asked to be removed from the draw, and that she “intends to play.”
