Returning to the WTA circuit after a break of a year and a half (she was defeated by Paula Badosa in the first round in Miami), Simona Halep communicated the name of her new coach, with whom she will try to return to the elite of women’s tennis, after the doping scandal for which she was suspended.
The double Grand Slam champion (Roland Garros 2018 and Wimbledon 2019) announced that she will train alongside Carlos Martinez Comet.
“I spoke with Carlos Martinez, I will have a period of preparation, of getting to know each other, so to speak, after Miami, when I return to Europe. I hope it goes well, I appreciate him a lot, he worked with players that I really liked, like Svetlana Kuznetsova, and I admire his work very, very much. I hope we get along and I hope I can work at the level he wants and we can do good work together,” Simona Halep told DigiSport.
Simona Halep lost the match with Paula Badosa, from the first round in Miami on Wednesday. The match, lost in three sets, 6-1, 4-6, 3-6, was the first one played by Simona Halep after 569 days, being suspended, initially for four years, because she was detected positive for roxadustat. The Court of Arbitration for Sport announced, on March 5, the reduction of Simona Halep’s suspension from four years to nine months. According to CAS, the Romanian’s suspension period expired on July 6, 2023, i.e. approximately eight months ago, so the former WTA leader can now return to competitions.
Simona admitted that she is not at the best physical level. “Of course, I’m not at the best physical level, but I feel good, working in the gym every day helped me (…) Paula was a very good opponent, with a high level of tennis, I enjoyed my presence on the court, the fact that so many people support me”, she said.
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