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"If Aryna Sabalenka chokes against either, she's washed": Tennis fans react to standout draw at Miami Open featuring Halep, Badosa and Sabalenka
WTAMonday, 18 March 2024 at 20:00
The fans
reacted to the draw of the WTA 1000 Miami Open, which highlights the match-up
between Simona Halep and Paula Badosa in the first round. Additionally, the
winner will face the second seed Aryna Sabalenka.
The
Romanian hasn't played professionally since her first-round exit at the 2022 US
Open. The 2-times Grand Slam champion was provisionally suspended in October
2022 for consuming roxadustat, and almost a year later, a total sanction of 4
years was confirmed, meaning her return could have only occurred at the end of
the 2025 season at the age of 34.
However,
Halep appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and succeeded in
reducing the sanction to only 9 months, a time she had already served, ensuring
her immediate return to the Tour. Her first tournament is in Miami, where she
received a wild card and faced a tough draw against the former world Indian
Wells champion Paula Badosa.
The Spanish
player has been inconsistent over the past year, and back problems forced her
to end the 2023 season after Wimbledon. Badosa has already retired twice during
a match in 2024 and withdrew from Indian Wells before the first round.
Not only
are they debuting against a highly credentialed opponent, but the winner will
also face Aryna Sabalenka in the second round. The second seed surely didn't
leave Tennis Paradise content with her exit in the round of 16 against Emma
Navarro (23rd seed), which further allowed Iga Swiatek, the tournament
champion, to extend her lead at the top of the rankings.
Fans had
various reactions to this section of the draw; while some gave credit to Halep
to start with a victory, others commented that Badosa might retire mid-match
and emphasized Sabalenka's need to secure a win.
Here are
some fan reactions on X:
Badosa? Badosa She is a former tennis player, she goes to tournaments to play the first round and win a few thousand dollars, she should recover well and play when she is healthy so she doesn't have excuses
Halep will crush her
It’s actually good, if they assigned lower ranked players to Simo people would question even if she could win, go against the most powerful player in WTA and being tested is the best way to come back.
Predicting Badosa to have another tragic withdrawal
Paula will lose...
If badosa lost I don’t know what to say
She will beat Badosa and lose to Aryna I PRAY
If Lenka chokes against either she’s washed
Simona Halep & Badosa will face each other in the 1st round of Miami. The winner faces Sabalenka. Nowhere to hide in this draw. Wow.
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