After an extended absence from competition and a challenging battle to overturn a doping ban, Simona Halep returned to the court at the Miami Open. Despite a strong start, the former world No.1 was unable to maintain her momentum and fell to Paula Badosa in a hard-fought three-set match, 1-6 6-4 6-3.
Halep showed no signs of rust in the early stages, swiftly taking the first set 6-1 by breaking Badosa’s serve three times. However, Badosa responded strongly, maintaining a break lead she earned early in the second set and eventually converting her fourth set point to force a decider. Despite Halep’s successful efforts to recover from a break down and level the score at 2-2 in the third set, she couldn’t sustain the necessary resistance, dropping serve twice more.
In the first-round encounter, Halep committed 10 double faults. Still, she managed to keep her unforced errors lower than her opponent, with 39 compared to Badosa’s 53. However, Badosa’s aggressive play saw her hitting more winners, with 35 to Halep’s 18, ultimately contributing to her victory in the match.
The former world No.2 Badosa was an undeniably challenging opponent for Halep, who was playing her first match since the 2022 US Open, even though the two-time Grand Slam champion had previously dominated…
