By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday, October 3, 2024
Two-time grand champion Simona Halep has returned to tennis after a four-month injury layoff. The former World No.1, who returned to the sport in Miami after having her four-year doping ban reduced to nine months, received a wild card into the Hong Kong 125 draw and won her first-round match against Arina Rodionova, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
Halep, who has not won a match since her return, had been out for four months with a knee injury suffered playing a 125k event in Paris before Roland-Garros. The 33-year-old Romanian last won a tournament match in Cincinnati in 2022.
Halep, ranked 1,130, fell in second-round action Thursday in Hong Kong, 6-2, 6-1 to Anna Blinkova.
“Words cannot describe the feeling of being out there on the court competing – and winning my first match in such a long time – in the sport I love,” Halep wrote on X after her first-round win. “Thank you for all your support and love, it means the world to me.
Words can’t describe the feeling of being out there on the court competing – and winning my first game in so long – in the sport I love. Thank you for all your support and love, it means the world to me ❤️ pic.twitter.com/s77D8uxiXJ
— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) October 2, 2024
