By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Monday, March 18, 202
The Miami Open rolled out the crimson carpet welcoming Simona Halep again to the Tour with a wild card.
Former world No. 1 Halep faces a tough street within the Miami draw.
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The 32-year-old Romanian celebrity faces Spain’s Paula Badosa in her Miami Open comeback match. Halep has received each prior conferences vs. Badosa, together with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over the fourth-seeded Spaniard within the 2022 Wimbledon spherical of 16.
The winner of the Halep vs. Badosa match will advance to a second-round showdown vs. two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka. Halep is 3-2 vs. Sabalenka.
“I am thrilled that I will probably be making my WTA return on the Miami Open,” Halep mentioned.
The Miami first spherical will probably be Halep’s first match since she misplaced to Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur within the 2022 US Open first spherical.
Weeks earlier than her US Open loss, Halep captured her twenty fourth profession championship in Toronto.
The 2-time Grand Slam champion Halep examined optimistic for the banned drug Roxadustat on the 2022 US Open. Roxadustat is legitimately used for the therapy of anaemia however is on the WADA Prohibited Substance checklist as a blood doping agent, which will increase hemoglobin and the manufacturing of crimson blood cells. It has been utilized by center distance and long-distance runners previously.
Final month, Halep received her doping attraction because the Court docket of Arbitration for Sport lowered her suspension from 4 years to 9 months clearing the trail for her return to the professional circuit this week in Miami.
Picture credit score: Clive Brunskill/Getty
