Swiatek, a quarter-finalist last time out, will get her campaign underway against former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, who defeated Coco Gauff in the opening round 12 months ago. It will be a repeat of their first-round meeting in Melbourne earlier this year, which Swiatek won in two hard-fought sets. The 23-year-old also defeated Kenin to win her first title at Roland Garros in 2020.

Swiatek could face Germany’s Angelique Kerber, whose three grand slam victories include the 2018 Wimbledon title, in round three, ahead of a projected meeting with Jelena Ostapenko, another former major winner. The 13th-seeded Latvian has won all four of their previous meetings – although, if she is to get a crack at a fifth, Ostapenko will first need to negotiate an intriguing opener against Alja Tomljanovic, the Australian wild card who accused her of faking injury during a feisty third-round win in 2021.

Swiatek is projected to face Marketa Vondousova, the Czech defending champion, in the last eight. Vondrousova will play Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain in the first round and could go up against Danielle Collins, the 11th-seeded American who is competing at Wimbledon for the final time, in the last 16. 

If the seedings hold, Swiatek will play former champion Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals. The 25-year-old from Kazakhstan opens against Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and could face Ons Jabeur, whom she defeated to win the title two summers ago, for the third year in a row in the last 16. The Tunisian, seeded 10th, will begin her bid to reach a third straight final against Moyuka Uchijima of Japan. 

In the bottom half, third seed Aryna Sabalenka will open her campaign against Emina Bektas of the United States. The Belarusian, who practised with Jabeur on Centre Court shortly after the draw was made on Friday morning, is expected to face Qinwen Zheng in the last eight, in what would be a repeat of this year’s Australian Open final. 

Propping up the draw is Gauff, the reigning US Open champion, who will start her first major as the world No 2 against fellow American Caroline Dolehide. Should the 20-year-old advance to the last eight for the first time, she could face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, the eighth seed and French Open finalist, who reached the Eastbourne semi-finals this week.

Domestic interest will centre on Emma Raducanu, who opens against Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 22nd seed, and Katie Boulter, the British No 1, who faces a potentially tricky start against former semi-finalist Tatjana Maria.

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Sabalenka, the most brutal ball-striker in the women’s game, briefly turned touch artist. Collins, who bows to no one in her mental and emotional intensity, was eerily becalmed. And as hopes of a gladiatorial contest gave way to a more prosaic reality, so the murmur of expectation that initially soundtracked the occasion slowly died, to be replaced by the odd ripple of polite applause. 

But if the sixth meeting between two of the fiercest competitors in the women’s game was a far cry from their blood-and-thunder collision last month in Madrid, the bottom line remained the same, Sabalenka prevailing 7-5, 6-2 to maintain her unbeaten record against the American and earn a place in the Italian Open final.

Awaiting the second-seeded Belarusian will be Iga Swiatek, whose 6-4, 6-3 win over Coco Gauff was more a case of business as usual. Through to her third final in four years in Rome, the Polish world No 1 has now won 10 of her 11 meetings with Gauff in straight sets. Swiatek is yet to drop a set over the fortnight, and is also riding an 11-match unbeaten streak that began with her title run at the Madrid Open, where she claimed an epic three-set victory over Sabalenka after saving three championship points.

While Swiatek has made serene progress, Sabalenka’s path to the second Saturday has been strewn with obstacles. Aside from the inevitable mental and emotional hangover that followed her defeat in the Spanish capital, the 26-year-old Belarusian arrived in Rome suffering from illness. She flirted with disaster in her opening match against Katie Volynets, an American qualifier ranked 109, and a couple of rounds later she suffered a back injury in an otherwise cathartic victory over Elina Svitolina in which she fended off three match points. 

“After Madrid, I didn’t feel great,” said Sabalenka, who was taken to a deciding set in all but one of her six matches at the event. “I had illness, then I got injured. I [was] kind of surprised that, even [with] so much stuff going on, I was able to make it to the [Rome] final. 

“At the same time, I knew that the level was there. If I start feeling better, I can go to the finals. So it’s like 50/50, you know? But that match [against Swiatek] definitely hurt me. It was a really tough loss, especially after having some match points, even though she played great tennis.

“Hopefully, here in Rome, I can get the win and get the title.”

If she continues to channel her inner Ons Jabeur as she did against Collins, Sabalenka will do her chances no harm. Under pressure on serve in the third game, she unexpectedly leavened the mix with a delicate, angled forehand drop shot that left Collins stranded behind the baseline. Another followed two games later, this time from the backhand. Vicious power remains the bedrock of her game, but such variety could offer a useful extra dimension against Swiatek, who was certainly driven to distraction by Yulia Putintseva’s drop shots in the third round. Just don’t expect her to opt for finesse if she gets a match point again.

“I’ll trust myself and go for shots instead of trying to keep in the point, just keep the ball back in,” said Sabalenka. “Instead of playing safe, I would just go for it.”

Swiatek, meanwhile, appears to have left Madrid with more than just the trophy. Only once previously had she contested a final-set tiebreak at tour level, and the one she played at the Caja Mágica was her first in a final. But having come through the experience, she has looked all the stronger for it. 

It is not unusual for Swiatek to advance to a final without dropping a set, even at this rarefied level, yet she has shown impressive resilience at the Foro Italico. After dropping the opening set, Putintseva was a point away from taking a 5-1 lead against her. Angelique Kerber led 2-0 in the second set after saving seven set points in the first. Gauff too started strongly, claiming an early break with a delicious topspin lob. But Swiatek rebounded on each occasion, playing with a calmness and self-belief that have not always been evident in moments of high stress.

“I think [the Madrid final] gave me confidence that I can win even though I’m not feeling the best way or I’m stressed at the beginning,” said Swiatek. “I can still get the score back.

“Maybe I’m less worried before matches because I know even if I’m going to be in trouble, I’ll be able to recover from it maybe if I’m going to work hard. This is the kind of feeling that I have.”

The benefits of that mindset were clear in the Pole’s outstanding quarter-final victory against Madison Keys, where she saved all 10 break points she faced. Yet, whatever her performance in Madrid may have given her, the 22-year-old is focused only on the here and now as she prepares to lock horns with Sabalenka again. 

“I don’t think it makes sense to think about these two matches as one continuing story, because [it’s a] totally different tournament,” said Swiatek. “Different week, as well. It’s not like it’s going to be the same. I’ll try to be in the present, not really think about Madrid.

“It’s a totally different story.”

A fortnight after one of the most dramatic and compelling finals in recent years, many will be hoping otherwise.

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The Spaniard showed all his trademark defiance after falling behind early on against Alex De Minaur, but the toll taken by 16 injury-ravaged months became increasingly apparent in the latter stages, Nadal losing nine of the last 10 games as he slipped to a 7-5, 6-1 defeat. 

While it was not the result the 37-year-old would have wished for at a club where the stadium court is named in his honour, the loss was neither unexpected nor disastrous. De Minaur, ranked 11th and mining a rich vein of form this season with 20 tour-level victories, was always likely to provide a sterner test of Nadal’s form and physicality than Flavio Cobolli, the 21-year-old Italian the former champion eased aside in his opening match.

Yet Nadal, who has said he is treating this year as his last on the professional tour, did enough to encourage the belief that, with a few more matches under his belt, he can bid farewell to Roland Garros next month in a manner befitting a 14-time champion. 

This was only Nadal’s fifth competitive outing since undergoing surgery on a hip injury he suffered at last year’s Australian Open, since when he has been further hampered by separate hip and abdominal problems. But having struggled initially to find his range off the ground, leaving him vulnerable to De Minaur’s frequent drop shots and wrong-footers, Nadal began to strike the ball with real authority. 

As his pace and depth led the fleet-footed Australian a merry dance along the baseline, Nadal won three straight games from 3-1 down. Had De Minaur not come up with a meaty plus-one forehand when facing a break point in the eighth game, the Spaniard would have served for the opening set. While it was not to be, it was a passage of play that promises to sustain Nadal in the weeks ahead as he builds towards Paris.

“I feel much more comfortable and much happier today than one week and a half ago,” said Nadal, whose prospects looked bleak when he withdrew from last week’s Monte Carlo Masters saying his body “would not allow” him to compete. 

“I was able to manage to play two matches. Playing against a great player, when I was able to play, I was not very far [away], without a doubt. That’s the way that I need to proceed today, and to give me a chance to be ready at least to compete at Roland Garros. 

“I don’t hide that, because in my tennis career I was able to play every single tournament at my highest level, trying to win tournaments, and I am not able to do it today. But I hope to be ready in a few weeks, and I’m going to try hard.”

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On Tuesday afternoon at the Barcelona Open, a tournament where he has won a dozen titles, the 37-year-old Spaniard will take to the stadium court named in his honour to face Flavio Cobolli of Italy in the opening round. It will be Nadal’s first match since limping away from a quarter-final defeat to Jordan Thompson at the Brisbane International in January, and just his fourth of an injury-plagued season that, he confirmed, is likely to be his last.

“I don’t know what may happen in the future, but as of today I take it as if it is going to be my last participation here in the Godó,” Nadal told a press conference. “This is my current feeling and I’m going to try to enjoy it in any way I can, and without giving up on being competitive.”

After a string of withdrawals that began when he pulled out of the Australian Open, and continued through events in Qatar, Indian Wells and, most recently, last week’s Monte Carlo Masters, where he said his body “simply would not allow” him to compete, Nadal’s delight at the prospect of a first competitive outing on clay since the 2022 French Open final was plain. 

“Rather than regretting the places I haven’t been able to play, I’m happy to be here,” said the 22-time grand slam champion. “On a personal level, to me being in Barcelona is a gift. I’m treating it as my last year, I want to enjoy every second. That makes everything a little more special. 

“It hurt not being able to be in Monte Carlo last week but, luckily, things have improved this week. I feel ready to go out and play tomorrow.”

While the Spaniard declined to elaborate on the exact nature of his recent injuries – “the list is long,” he said – he laboured on serve during an exhibition match against Carlos Alcaraz last month in Las Vegas, leading many onlookers to suspect a back problem. Last week, however, Nadal revealed in a Spanish television interview that he has been struggling with an abdominal injury. Either way, his physical issues appear to be easing, judging from a 6-1 win over Andrey Rublev, the world No 8 and second seed, in a practice set at the Reial Club de Tennis Barcelona 1899. 

Currently ranked 644 in the world, Nadal has secured a place in the 64-strong draw for the tournament using a protected ranking. Should he get past Cobolli, the world No 62, he would face Alex De Minaur, the Australian fourth seed, who has a bye. But Nadal was characteristically reluctant to look ahead – certainly not as far as the semi-finals, where Carlos Alcaraz is no longer a potential opponent after abandoning his title defence because of the same arm injury that prevented him from playing in Monte Carlo.

“Let’s hope he recovers well and quickly,” said Nadal. “It’s bad for the tournament, because he’s the top seed. But I’m not in a position to be thinking about the semi-finals.”

As for the question of when and where he will retire, Nadal likewise refused to be drawn. It now seems less likely that he will play on into 2025, as he had previously suggested he might if January’s return from injury went well. That would point to a possible summer farewell at Roland Garros, either at the French Open, where he is a 14-time champion, or at the Paris Olympics, which begin in late July. First, though, he must remain fit long enough to make the starting line for those events.

“We’ll keep going forward until I have the feeling that it’s not worth it,” said Nadal. “I’m not putting a deadline on that but, as I’ve said, in the end life marks your path for you.”

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In a year that was meant to be about Nadal bidding a fond farewell to the game at the events that have meant most to him before “probably” heading into retirement, the former world No 1’s absence from a tournament where he has won a record 11 titles will be keenly felt. Nadal’s success in Monte Carlo, the first staging post en route to the French Open, where 14 of his 22 grand slam titles have come, has often set the tone for the entire clay-court season, but now he will miss the event for the third year in a row.  

“Hi all, these are very difficult moments for me, sporting wise,” Nadal wrote on social media. “Unfortunately, I have to tell you that I am not going to be playing in Monte Carlo. My body simply won’t allow me. 

“Even if I am working hard and making the maximum effort every day, with all the will to play and compete again at tournaments that have been very important for me, the truth is that I can’t play today.

“You have no idea how hard this is for me to not be able to play these events. The only thing I can do is to accept the situation and try to look at the immediate future, keeping the excitement and will to play in order to give me a chance for things to get better.”

Nadal has not played since early January, when he returned from almost a year out with a hip injury only to suffer a minor hip tear in a quarter-final loss to Australia’s Jordan Thompson in Brisbane. He was subsequently forced to pull out of the Australian Open. Nadal’s only appearance since came at last month’s Netflix Slam, an exhibition event against Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas, following which he withdrew from Indian Wells and Miami.  

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Ten weeks ago at the Australian Open, Rybakina came out on the wrong side of the longest tiebreak in grand slam singles history, losing a 42-point shootout to Anna Blinkova. Pushed to a final-set shootout for the first time since, it would have been natural for her mind to drift back to that gut-wrenching defeat. 

But as the 24-year-old vied with Victoria Azarenka for a place in the Miami Open final, nothing could have been further from her mind. She was not thinking of Australia, or Blinkova, or the six match points she missed on that January night in Melbourne. She was not dwelling on a remarkably one-sided second set in which Azarenka turned a match she had been controlling on its head with a run of 16 straight points. Nor was she preoccupied by the thought that, less than 10 minutes earlier, she had stood just two points from victory as she served for the match at 5-4. All that mattered now was a clear mind.

“I knew that in the tiebreak the only chance for me to win was just to switch off my mind and just try to go for it,” said Rybakina following her dramatic 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (7-2) victory. 

“I didn’t even remember that last time I played in Australia, the tiebreak. But definitely, all the matches I played here, it was a battle for every point with all the opponents. 

“I was not really thinking much. I knew it’s a tiebreak, it’s a kind of roulette, it might not go your way, especially from the beginning – and it went my way.”

Through to the final for a second straight year, Rybakina will face a player cast in the same powerful mould in Danielle Collins, who maintained her dominant form at the tournament with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 14th seed. 

“I’m looking forward to playing Elena,” said Collins after reaching the first WTA 1000 final of her career in her last season as a professional. “We have had a lot of great matches previously, some battles. That’s what we play for as professional athletes, these close ones. 

“Every time I have played her, it’s neck and neck. These games are close, the points are close, they are long, challenging points. Big serves from both of us. Big returns, big groundstrokes. I think we will go out there and put on a great show and it will be a fun match.”

Rybakina could be forgiven for hoping that their latest meeting bucks that trend. The Kazakhstani has won her past three matches against the unseeded American – her sole defeat came during Collins’s title run in San Jose in 2021 – but all have gone the distance. After being pushed to a decider in four of her five matches in Miami, another three-setter is the last thing the world No 4 needs.

“It was really difficult from the beginning,” said Rybakina, who arrived in Florida short of match practice after a gastrointestinal illness forced her to abandon her defence of the Indian Wells title. “For sure I can take a lot from this tournament, a lot of positives. And also, in the beginning, these long matches were helping me to get back in shape. 

“Now I’m not in shape, just because I’m tired of all these long matches. But overall, it was a really successful tournament no matter how I do in the final.”

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An outstanding performance from Ekaterina Alexandrova put paid to Swiatek’s hopes of winning the “sunshine double” of Indian Wells and Miami for the second time in three years, the 29-year-old Russian prevailing 6-4, 6-2 to claim the most significant victory of her career.

Alexandrova, who had never previously beaten a reigning world No 1, becomes only the third player to defeat Swiatek this season, and the third ever to survive a match against the Pole at this category of event without dropping serve. It was Swiatek’s first loss to a top-20 player since last September, when Veronika Kudermetova thwarted her in the quarter-finals of the Japan Open.

“She played an amazing match and for sure she was a better player out there today,” said Swiatek after suffering her first defeat before the quarter-finals of a WTA 1000 event since the 2022 Cincinnati Open. “I had a hard time reading [her serve], and I got a little bit tense also when I couldn’t return well. 

“At the end, I think all that really made my game worse. I was feeling like I can’t play in a natural way, but it’s not like I always feel comfortable on court, so I thought I was going to be able to work through that.”

Alexandrova’s excellence ensured otherwise. The tone was set from the opening game, when the Russian fired a blazing forehand winner to secure what would prove a vital break. In the sixth game, Alexandrova fended off the only break point she would face on the evening, gobbling up a short ball behind a meaty first serve, and there was a perceptible swagger in her step as she served out the opener to love. 

By this stage, Swiatek’s unforced errors were outnumbering her winners by a ratio of two to one, yet worse was to come for the Pole. As her forehand became increasingly wayward in the face of Alexandrova’s aggressive baseline onslaught, Swiatek suffered the rare indignity of losing five straight games from 1-0 up in the second set. Her difficulties were compounded by the excellence of Alexandrova’s return game, the Russian alternating between stepping inside the baseline to crush huge returns off Swiatek’s first serve, and retreating to deal equally severely with the higher-bouncing topspin of her second delivery.

It was a winning formula, one that will not have gone unnoticed in the locker room, although with 27 unforced errors to just 11 winners – a department in which Alexandrova dwarfed her, battering 31 winners including eight aces – Swiatek undoubtedly contributed to her downfall. Struggling with the transition following her title win in Indian Wells, where the courts are slower and the balls lighter, she simply failed to find her best form in Miami. After demolishing Camila Giorgi on Saturday, Swiatek declared herself happy with the conditions, but that changed after she became embroiled in a taut three-setter with Linda Noskova the following day. 

“I kind of changed my mind,” she said after defeating her Australian Open conqueror for a second straight tournament. “Now I know that I still have some things to figure out.”

The same could be said for Coco Gauff, the third seed, whose ambitions of winning her hometown tournament were undone by Caroline Garcia, the 23rd seed. The 30-year-old Frenchwoman prevailed 6-3, 1-6, 6-2, her third successive victory in five matches against Gauff, who was unable to contain her opponent’s free-flowing aggression despite a strong second-set fightback.

From a familiarity with the local climate and surroundings to the backing of the home crowd, all the advantages seemed to be in the US Open champion’s favour. That feeling increased when Garcia, who defeated Naomi Osaka in straight sets in the previous round, required treatment on a shoulder problem that took the sting out of her first serve. But the former world No 4’s first-strike style proved too hot to handle for Gauff, whose challenge faded quickly once she failed to seize opportunities to break at the start of the decider.

“It’s definitely a great match and great win for me,” said Garcia, who will face Danielle Collins, a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Sorana Cirstea, for a place in the last four. 

“I try to always be very aggressive and take some time away. Looks like Coco doesn’t really like it.”

Alexandrova, through to the quarter-finals for the second year in a row, will play Jessica Pegula after the fifth-seeded American defeated Emma Navarro 7-6 (7-1), 6-3. The Russian is under no illusions about what she will need to do if she is to avenge her straight-sets defeat to Pegula in the only previous meeting between the pair, which came just under three years ago in Rome. 

“Probably the same thing I did today [against Swiatek]: so stay consistent, stay focused and just focus on my game, not on the opponent,” Alexandrova said. “[I’ll] just do my best and we’ll see.”

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The former world No 1 sustained the injury as he approached the net late in the deciding set of a 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) loss to Tomas Machac on Sunday. As Murray went to split-step, he stalled abruptly, emitting an anguished cry as he hopped towards the net before sinking to his knees, clutching his left ankle. 

Fears that Murray might have ruptured an Achilles tendon were swiftly allayed as he rose to his feet unaided, and after a medical evaluation he somehow managed to play on, coming within two points of victory before Machac eventually sealed victory in three hours and 28 minutes. However, the 36-year-old revealed in a social media post on Monday night that he has suffered a double rupture that will keep him out for “an extended period”.

“Towards the end of my match in Miami I suffered a full rupture of my ATFL [anterior talofibular ligament] and near full-thickness rupture of my CFL [calcaneofibular ligament],” wrote Murray, who had a metal hip installed five years ago.

“I will see an ankle specialist when I return home to determine next steps. Goes without saying this is a tough one to take and I’ll be out for an extended period. But I’ll be back with one hip and no ankle ligaments when the time is right.”

The ATFL and CFL ligaments, which are located on the outer side of the ankle, play a crucial role in keeping the foot and ankle stable when moving. Injuries of the type Murray has suffered are common, and have an estimated recovery time of six to 12 weeks, assuming surgery is not required. It therefore seems unlikely the 36-year-old will be able to fulfil his ambition of competing for one last time at the French Open, which begins on 26 May. A more realistic target is the grass-court event at Queen’s Club, where Murray has won five singles titles, which gets underway three weeks later. Wimbledon, meanwhile, starts on 1 July. 

The injury is cruelly timed for Murray, who was showing real signs of a return to form after winning two straight matches for the first time since last August. It was no way to bid farewell to a tournament where he has twice been crowned champion, or to a city he has come to regard as a second home.

“That’s the last match I am going to play here, which is sad, because I love it here,” said Murray, who used to own an apartment overlooking Biscayne Bay, where he would stay with his team during his famously gruelling winter training blocks. 

“I’ve spent so much of my career here, and I would have liked it to go on a little bit longer. This tournament is an important one for me, so it was a bit more emotional leaving the court.  

“I am looking forward to the end now, give my best the next few months and get to be at home with my family.”

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Koltsov, 42, a former professional ice hockey player who twice represented Belarus at the Olympics, died in the early hours of Monday morning at the St Regis Bal Harbour Resort, a five-star hotel in Miami Beach. The Miami-Dade Police Department described the death as an “apparent suicide”.

Sabalenka, the world No 2, expressed her grief in a statement, requesting privacy for herself and Koltsov’s family. She also revealed that she was no longer in a relationship with Koltsov at the time of his death.

“Konstantin’s death is an unthinkable tragedy, and while we were no longer together, my heart is broken,” Sabalenka, 25, wrote on social media. “Please respect my privacy and his family’s privacy during this difficult time.”

Sabalenka, who was beaten in the fourth round of Indian Wells by Emma Navarro last week, still intends to compete at the Miami Open, where will begin her title challenge against close friend Paula Badosa on Friday after organisers granted her an extra day to prepare for her first match. Badosa, who battled past the returning Simona Halep on Tuesday, anticipated it would be an “uncomfortable” experience.

“She’s one of my best friends,” said the Spaniard, who is working her way back from a long-term back injury. “Of course, I know what she’s going through. Honestly, for me [it] hasn’t been easy, too. I really don’t know what to say, honestly. She’s a strong woman. I think she will get the power from somewhere. I hope it’s going to be a battle, a good match.

“Yesterday I spoke with her a lot of time. This morning, the same. So I know what she’s going through. I know the entire situation, what is happening. That for me is a little bit shocking also to go through, because at the end she’s my best friend and I don’t want her to suffer. It’s a very tough situation. At the same point, playing against her, it’s also uncomfortable.”

The death of Koltsov, who played in the National Hockey League for Pittsburgh Penguins between 2002 and 2006, was confirmed in a statement issued by Salavat Yulaev, the Russian Kontinental Hockey League side where he was an assistant coach.

“It is with deep sorrow that we inform you that the coach of Salavat Yulaev, Konstantin Koltsov, has passed away,” read the statement. “He was a strong and cheerful person, he was loved and respected by players, colleagues, and fans. Konstantin Evgenievich forever wrote himself into the history of our club. May he rest in peace.”

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The former world No 1 knows what it is to stay the course at a tournament; to watch the field slowly dwindle until she is all but alone in the locker room; to hoist the trophy on finals day. She has done it 24 times in her career, most notably at Roland Garros in 2018, and again at Wimbledon the following summer. 

But as the 32-year-old Romanian played her first match in 19 months at the Miami Open, where she was beaten 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 by Paula Badosa of Spain, she was just grateful to be playing professional tennis at all. 

That looked a remote prospect last September, when Halep was handed a four-year ban after failing a drugs test at the 2022 US Open. But things have moved quickly since the court of arbitration for sport (CAS) ruled earlier this month that she was not guilty of intentional doping, the offer of a wildcard for one of the season’s bigger events proving too tempting to turn down. 

“I came just because the boost, the love for tennis, just brought me here,” said Halep. “It was fast, because it was a just few days after the decision, but I’m really happy that I did it. I came here and I felt again the love for sport.”

Perhaps inevitably, Halep’s body struggled to keep pace with her ambition. She required medical treatment on her shoulder late in the second set and, understandably after so long on the sidelines, began to fade physically in the closing stages. But nothing could dampen her mood, and she left the court just as she entered it, smiling broadly and thankful for the support shown by the Miami public.

“I would rate it as a special day, honestly, considering the period I had,” said Halep. “Playing so well, feeling so well on court, feeling so well outside of the court with so many people that are very nice to me and giving me the love, I would say that this day is going to stay very special for me. 

“Of course, I had many results in the past, big results. But here it’s something more than tennis, it’s something personal. I really love to see that people are appreciating me besides tennis, and besides everything that happened.”

The one discordant note was sounded by another former world No 1, Caroline Wozniacki, who pointed out that Halep’s ban was reduced rather than overturned, and said wildcards should not be granted in such circumstances.

“I have always wanted a clean sport, fair for everybody,” said the 33-year-old Dane. “It’s definitely still my opinion.

“This is not directly at Simona, but if someone purposely cheats, if someone has tested positive for doping… I understand why a tournament wants a big star in the tournament, but it’s my personal belief that I don’t think people should be awarded wild cards afterwards.  

“If you want to come back, and it’s been a mistake, I understand, but you should work your way up from the bottom. That’s my personal opinion. 

“Simona’s situation has obviously dragged on for a long time. She got her suspension reduced. It wasn’t a clearance, it was a reduced sentence. She’s now been off of the game for a while and she’s coming back. Again, I just hope for a clean sport. That’s all I want.”

Having first been suspended on 7 October 2022, Halep was cleared to make an immediate return to the sport after a CAS appeal panel, accepting her argument that the ingestion of a contaminated collagen supplement was behind her failed test, reduced her ban to nine months. But while the panel ruled that she was not guilty of intentional doping, they said she “did bear some level of fault or negligence for her violations, as she did not exercise sufficient care” when using the supplement.

Halep bristled when Wozniacki’s comments were put to her.

“Why did she say that?” asked the Romanian, whose lengthy absence from the game has left her without a world ranking, leaving her dependent on wildcards for the time being. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t cheat. I didn’t dope. So it’s better if we read the decision from CAS that it was a contaminated supplement, it wasn’t doping. 

“I never had something to do with doping. I never doped, so I’m not a cheater. Thank you to the tournament for giving me the wild card and the possibility to play in such a big tournament. It was great to be back.  

“Only one person being negative about me is not that important, because I have hundreds of people giving me love, so I will take that.”

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