Simona Halep to return to action at WTA 125 event in Hong Kong

Former world No. 1 Simona Halep is set to return to action at the WTA 125-level tournament in Hong Kong, which begins Monday. The two-time Grand Slam champion has accepted a wild card to compete in her first event in four months, and just her third since she was cleared to return to tennis following a protracted challenge to a 2022 anti-doping rules violation.

Halep, who tested positive for the banned substance roxadustat following the 2022 US Open and later was sanctioned for abnormalities to her biological passport, has played just two matches since she was cleared to return to tennis with immediate effect after her four-year ban was reduced to nine months in March.

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She lost in the first round of the Miami Open to Paula Badosa in three sets, and retired due to a left knee injury against American McCartney Kessler at the WTA 125 in Paris in May, having won the first set. The injury kept her out of competitive action since then.

Bidding for the first win of her return, Halep will face Australia's Arina Rodionova in the first round. WTA 125 events are a tier below tour-level tournaments, akin to ATP Challenger events.

World No.8 Emma Navarro, who lost in the second round this week at the China Open, has also taken a wild card to the tournament.

World No. 56 Clara Burel of France is seeded No. 2 in a draw that also features three-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist Ajla Tomljanovic, former world No. 33 Clara Tauson, and Americans Kessler, Hailey Baptiste, Emina Bektas and Alycia Parks.