Simona Halep returns to the WTA tournament after a year and a half break, and her first opponent will be Paula Badosa (in the inaugural round in Miami, category 1000 tournament).

Simona Halep vs Paula Badoza in the first round of WTA Miami 2024

The pause for Simona is over, the TAS decision to reduce the punishment for the doping scandal (from 4 years to 9 months) helped the ex-WTA leader to return to sports competitions.

Florida tournament director James Blake immediately offered Simona a wildcard, which would put Halep in the main draw.

The games of the first round will take place on Tuesday, March 19, on the day when Simona Halep, the ex-leader of the world ranking, is also expected to enter the field.

Former world No. 2 Paula Bados, meanwhile, has dropped to 80th in the world rankings due to numerous injuries that have kept her from reaching the level of previous years.

The Spaniard has three titles to his credit: Indian Wells (2021), Belgrade (2021) and Sydney (2022).

• There will be a match with Badosa (ranked 80th in the WTA). LiveBLOG on HotNews.ro and live on Digisport channels. American organizers will announce the start time soon.

We remind you that four players from Romania are directly admitted to the main draw of WTA Miami: Sorana Kirstia (22 WTA – favorite 19 – directly accepted in the second round), Ana Bohdan (65 WTA), Jacqueline Christian (82 WTA) and Simona Halep (unranked) .

Simona Halep – Paula Badosa, 2-0 in straight matches

2022, Wimbledon: 6-1, 6-2 for Halep

2022, Madrid: 6-3, 6-1 for Halep

Opponents from Romania at WTA Miami 2023

And tour

imon Halep vs. Paula Badosa (73 WTA)

Ana Bohdan against Kateryna Sinyakova (41 WTA)

Jacqueline Christian vs Diane Parry (61 WTA)

II round

Sorana Kirstea vs Angelique Kerber (607 WTA) / Sloane Stevens (44 WTA)

The WTA 1000 Miami Open tournament will be held from March 19 to 31. Play will be played on hard surfaces, with 128 players in the main draw and a total prize pool of $8,995,555. The champion of the overall title is Petra Kvitova (she is pregnant and will not participate in this year’s edition).

>> Simona Halep returns to Romania’s Billie Jean King Cup team

What you need to know about Simona Halep’s doping case

• The news that Simona Halep was temporarily suspended for doping appeared on Friday, October 21, 2022.

• Simona’s case was heard by Sport Resolutions, an independent tribunal in London that hears doping cases in white sport.

• Halep was suspended for 4 years for two separate violations of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program (TADP): the presence and use of the substance roxadustat in a urine sample collected after an anti-doping test conducted at the 2022 US Open (1) and a violation of her biological passport (2).

• Halep was heard at the CAS on February 7-9, 2024.

• The Swiss court said that the ex-leader of the WTA asked to cancel the decision of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) and “reduce” its sanctions.

• On August 29, 2022, Simona Halep played her last official match on the world stage. At the US Open, in the inaugural round, our athlete unexpectedly defeated Daria Snigur (at that time, she took 124th place in the WTA ranking according to the qualification results).

You may also be interested in:

>> Darren Cahill, heartfelt message for Simona Halep after ’18 months of torture’

>> The expert who helped Simona Halep released new details – how he proved the infection with roxadustat

>> The doping control laboratory in Romania reacted to the fact that Simona Halep said that she almost ruined her career