MIAMI – It has been “18 months of torture” but Simona Halep is finally back on the tennis court.

The Romanian made her competitive return in Miami on March 19 after winning an appeal over a doping ban, while Indian Wells champion Iga Swiatek will look to pull off another Sunshine Double.

Halep, who accepted a wild card into the Miami Open after her four-year ban was cut to nine months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in March, faced Paula Badosa – her match started after press time – with the winner scheduled to take on world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the second round.

For the former world No. 1, the clash against world No. 80 Badosa of Spain marked her first match since the 2022 US Open where she was upset in the first round by Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur.

Halep, a former Wimbledon and French Open champion, was suspended in October 2022 after testing positive for roxadustat – a banned drug that stimulates the production of red blood cells – at that year’s US Open.

She had vigorously denied the charges against her.

Halep’s coach Darren Cahill said that he had always trusted the 32-year-old, telling Sky Sports: “To me it’s been 18 months of torture. I’ve always believed in her. I’ve always believed she would never deliberately or knowingly take anything that was wrong or banned.

“That came true when they went to CAS and the truth came out so I know she’s been through a tough moment and a tough period of 18 months.

“I’m super proud of the way she’s handled herself and the way that she’s carried herself throughout this entire time. I could not be happier to see her playing in Miami.”

Meanwhile, top seed Swiatek missed her Miami Open title defence in 2023 due to injury but returns in stellar form and fresh off a dominant 6-4, 6-0 win over ninth seed Maria Sakkari in the Indian Wells final.

She will now set her sights on capturing the Indian Wells and Miami Open titles back to back, a feat known as the Sunshine Double given the tournaments’ respective locations in California and Florida, for a second time since 2022.

Should the Pole – who will face either Italy’s Camila Giorgi or fellow Pole Magdalena Frech in the second round – claim the Miami title, she would join Steffi Graf (1994 and 1996) as the only women to complete the Sunshine Double twice.

After her win at Indian Wells, Swiatek was asked what it was like to be world No. 1 – this would be her 95th week.

“I would say you just feel like your game is better than anyone out there,” she said.

“Obviously, it’s not for granted that you’re going to win because of that, but you feel like you have skills and you have everything to be able to present your best game.

“Because of that – and I don’t expect it’s going to happen all the time – but I just know that it’s somewhere there and I need to (do) the best work to put it out there.”

Florida resident Coco Gauff, who reached the Indian Wells semi-finals, will enjoy plenty of crowd support as she returns to Miami for the first time since her triumph at the 2023 US Open.

Britain’s Emma Raducanu, however, has withdrawn from the event on the eve of her first-round match due to a lower back injury.

On the men’s side, Carlos Alcaraz will also chase the final piece of the Sunshine Double after a successful title defence at Indian Wells where he beat reigning Miami Open champion Daniil Medvedev in a rematch of the 2023 California final.

While the men’s draw is stacked, one notable absence will be world No. 1 and six-time champion Novak Djokovic, who expressed a desire to limit the number of events he plays at this stage of his decorated career.

The 36-year-old is still without a trophy in 2024 after reaching the Australian Open semi-finals and suffering a shock third-round exit at Indian Wells. REUTERS