Simona Halep’s comeback from a shortened anti-doping suspension has encountered another setback after she suffered a 6-3, 6-3 defeat to Yuan Yue at the Hong Kong Tennis Open. The former world No. 1 has struggled to regain her form since returning to action in March, winning only one match in four attempts.
Halep’s suspension was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in March, reducing it from four years to nine months. She made her comeback at the Miami Open, where she lost to Paula Badosa in three sets. However, injuries have hampered her progress since then, forcing her to retire from her opening match at a WTA 125K tournament on the eve of Roland Garros and sit out the rest of the summer due to a knee injury.
In Hong Kong, Halep defeated Australian Arina Rodionova in three sets but lost in straight sets to No. 7 seed Anna Blinkova. Against Yuan, she played solid but unspectacular tennis, with 17 winners to 19 unforced errors. Yuan, on the other hand, managed a +10 differential of 22 winners to 12 errors and won five of the final six games to claim victory.
With this being the final week of WTA tournaments this season, it is unclear where Halep goes from here. She could drop down to enter ITF Pro Circuit events or spend the remaining off-season in training for 2025.
