Taking part in on the identical court docket the place she celebrated her solely victory after coming back from a doping ban, Simona Halep fell in straight units to sixth seed Yuan Yue, shedding 6-3 6-3 within the first spherical of the Hong Kong Tennis Open.
As Halep struggled to seek out her footing, tallying 19 unforced errors that outweighed her 17 winners, the world No. 45 Yuan hit 22 winners and made solely 12 unforced errors. Regardless of a shaky begin to the second set, the Chinese language rapidly regained her kind and closed out the match decisively, profitable six consecutive video games from 3-0 all the way down to earn a spot within the second spherical of the WTA 250 match.
Former world No. 1 Halep, presently ranked No. 883, made her comeback from a nine-month doping suspension in March, however a left knee harm sidelined her for an extra 4 months from Might till late September. 4 weeks in the past, she celebrated her first victory since 2022 on the Hong Kong WTA 125 match, defeating Arina Rodionova in a three-set match earlier than falling to Anna Blinkova within the second spherical. Nevertheless, on this week’s WTA 250 Hong Kong occasion—her fourth match and fifth match of the 12 months—Halep struggled to seek out her kind.
After the loss, Halep discovered consolation in her progress. “Was not bad at all, but the opponent was playing really well and she had confidence,” she mirrored. “I would say I’m not happy with the way I played, but it’s much better than previous matches so I’m just taking the positives. Body is tired, but it’s normal because I had such a long break. It’s better than last time, so I take it as a positive.”
