Five hundred and sixty-eight days after she last struck a ball in a match of any consequence, Simona Halep returned to professional tennis from her shortened doping ban. The comeback came in a tough, gruelling battle that resulted in a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 loss against Paula Badosa of Spain in the first round of the Miami Open.
Despite the defeat, the former No 1’s performance marks a first step back as she tries to return to the top level of the sport. Halep has not competed since she lost to Daria Snigur in the first round of the 2022 US Open – she tested positive for roxadustat after that match.
Halep was initially handed a four-year ban for both the banned substance and irregularities in her athlete blood passport. Earlier this month, the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) dramatically reduced the ban, concluding that Halep was not guilty of intentionally doping. Cas is yet to release their full reasoned decision, explaining how her ban was reduced to nine months.
Early on in the encounter against Badosa, Halep was understandably nervous, double-faulting twice in her opening service game. But she quickly settled down and her superior consistency, movement and depth allowed her to quickly break early against an errant Badosa and roll through the first set.
While Badosa is a former world No 2 with considerable pedigree, the Spaniard has struggled with injuries over the past year, most recently a recurring back injury. Her lack of confidence was immediately clear as she sprayed unforced errors throughout the opening set, but she gradually worked her way into the match. While Halep remained relatively consistent off the ground, the 33-year-old struggled with her serve and Badosa took advantage of her opponent’s dwindling length in the second set.
Her body unaccustomed to the intensity of top-level tennis after so long, Halep took a medical timeout for shoulder soreness before Badosa served out the second set at 5-4. As Halep looked increasingly fatigued and errant in an intense final set, Badosa took an early break before dramatically holding on despite pain in her right foot in the final games.
Halep will next turn her focus to the clay court season, where she will rely on wildcards to compete at the top level. Having spent more than 12 months out of competition, the Romanian returns to the sport unranked after being No 7 in August 2022. The WTA does not allow players to take protected rankings on their return from doping bans, as they do for injury or maternity leave.
As a former No 1 and grand slam champion, though, Halep will have unlimited wildcards in her return to the sport compared to the limit of three main draw and three qualifying wildcards placed on most players. It is hard to imagine that Halep will have a difficult time obtaining them, both because of her status as a grand slam champion and the publicity her comeback will generate for any tournament that invites her.
Badosa, meanwhile, is scheduled to face Aryna Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion and second seed, on Thursday. On Monday, Sabalenka’s boyfriend, the former hockey player Konstantin Koltsov, tragically died in Miami. While Sabalenka did not participate in the tournament’s media day on Tuesday following her bereavement, the Belarusian trained on Tuesday afternoon in Miami and it appears that she intends to play in the tournament.
