MIAMI/WASHINGTON, March 20, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)
Simona Halep has experienced the thrill of winning major championships at Roland Garros and Wimbledon as well as being ranked No. 1 in the world. She’s also experienced the agony of banishment from playing tennis upon receiving a four-year ban after testing positive for a banned drug, Roxadustat, which she argued was the result of being exposed to a contaminated supplement that caused her to fail a drug test.
On Tuesday afternoon at the Miami Open, Halep played her first match on the WTA Tour in about a year and a half, since losing a first-round match to Daria Snigur of Ukraine at the 2022 US Open. Unranked, Halep lost to No. 80 Paula Badosa of Spain, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, in an hour and 58 minutes.
🙌 Here for it 🙌
Simona Halep makes her return to the Hologic WTA Tour as she takes on Paula Badosa in R1 of the @MiamiOpen! pic.twitter.com/GDoPi1SsD4
— wta (@WTA) March 19, 2024
A four-year ban that was handed down to Halep in 2023 by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) was cut to nine months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) two weeks ago. Two days later, Miami Open tournament director James Blake gave the 32-year-old Romanian a wild card invite that allowed her direct entry into the 96-player main singles draw.
Against Badosa, Halep hit five aces to 10 double faults, won 70 percent of her first-serve points, saved seven of 11 break points and converted four of five break-point opportunities. She was outpointed by Badosa 92-87.
That backhand to break ⚡@Simona_Halep with the early momentum as she breaks Badosa in the 3rd game of the match.#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/w28POhZPny
— wta (@WTA) March 19, 2024
While Halep started well in the opening set, she encountered trouble later on, which included needing a right shoulder massage from a trainer late in the second set. By the end, Halep was broken at love by Badosa, with each point the result of an unforced error – a trio of backhand miscues and a forehand hit wide.
Halep received polite applause as she walked off the Grandstand court, smiling and waving at the crowd. While the final score came up short of victory, Halep was at least back on the court competing.
No rust for Halep!@Simona_Halep races out to a 6-1 lead over Badosa. #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/KW1rNJuIDd
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) March 19, 2024
In her post-match news conference, here’s how Halep described her first match back:
“Well, it felt really good. I had emotions, but positive emotions,” she said, “To see the crowd supporting me so nice gave me a lot of energy. The level of tennis was pretty good. Unexpected, I think, for most of the people.
“Yeah, at this high level, like Paula played, I think I did a good job today. So I’m happy with the first match coming back.”
Halep was asked how she would rate her first match back since August 2022. She replied:
“I would rate it as a special day, honestly, considering the period I had. Playing so well, feeling so well on court, feeling so well outside of the court with so many people that are very nice to me and giving me the love, I would say that this day is going to stay very special to me.
“Of course, I had many results in the past, big results. But here it’s something more than tennis, it’s something personal. I really love to see that people are appreciating me besides tennis and beside everything that happened.”
What an angle 😮@Simona_Halep fighting hard to stay close in the 3rd set!#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/DjriCKd3Eh
— wta (@WTA) March 19, 2024
Halep was asked to describe the emotions she felt while on court as well as at what point she could focus on the match. Her response:
“After the first five points that I lost, I was pretty nervous,” she said, smiling. “I just thought that it’s going to be tough. I didn’t know actually what to expect. But then, slowly, I got back the rhythm. I took the first game.
“Then, I just relaxed myself and I said, ‘Okay, I’m not that bad, it’s going to be okay.’ I just had to believe and to just be focused. I knew it’s going to be tough, but it was really good in the end.”
Comeback Complete 👏@PaulaBadosa turns it around, rallying to defeat Halep in a fabulous R1 affair at the @MiamiOpen! pic.twitter.com/jvLwpXw3T7
— wta (@WTA) March 19, 2024
And what did Badosa think of Halep’s performance?
“Even if Simona is 10 years without competing, she’s still Simona. She’s a big player. She’s won so many titles. I respect her so much,” Badosa said.
“I mean, today I was impressed. I think she’s going to be back on top very soon. These kinds of players, you can never doubt about them because they’ve been great champions.”
Halep, who kept in shape by training regularly, said she didn’t play much tennis or follow tournament results much during her absence from the WTA Tour. She admitted that had she been forced to serve the entire four-year ban, it would have effectively ended her professional career. Instead, she’s grateful to be back – win or lose – on the court.
“Four years is a lot,” she admitted. “I’m not that young anymore. Yeah, four years would have been very difficult and probably the end of the career.
“But [it] didn’t happen. So, I’m happy I’m here today. …
“Here I came just because the boost, the love for tennis, just brought me here. It was fast because it was just a few days after the decision, but I’m really happy that I did it. I came here and I felt again the love for sport.”
To the fans, players, WTA and @MiamiOpen tournament staff, thank you for making my comeback so special 🫶 pic.twitter.com/GWeV1m8rQ6
— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) March 20, 2024
