Heavy rain delays play at Miami Open
03:26 PM GMT
Live from Miami
Will there be tennis today…
Me thinks not…#MiamiOpen | @TalkingTennisTT pic.twitter.com/vAPDtpNl9s— Anastasia Folorunso (@a_folorunso) March 22, 2024
03:13 PM GMT
‘A very tough situation’
Badosa and Sabalenka are close friends off the court, adding an extra layer of emotion to this afternoon’s match. Earlier this week, the Spanish player said: “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 that 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. Yeah, but I don’t really want to talk about it because I said I’m not going to talk about it. She’s my best friend and I promised that. I’m going to stay like this. Sorry.”
03:08 PM GMT
The forecast in Miami...
It’s not looking good...
02:58 PM GMT
Sabalenka warms up in Miami
Aryna is in training, today is the match 🙏 pic.twitter.com/9LZBdggg7w
— News Aryna Sabalenka (@Sabanewsss) March 22, 2024
02:55 PM GMT
First on
Sabalenka vs Badosa is the first match on the Grandstand court at Miami Gardens this afternoon, meaning we should get play at 4pm sharp should the rain allow.
02:52 PM GMT
No play before 4pm GMT
Update as of 10:30 am! pic.twitter.com/36ELWSKjpM
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 22, 2024
02:46 PM GMT
Rain in Miami
We are expecting a small dealy to action starting, with rain having hit Miami Gardens in the last few minutes.
02:39 PM GMT
Emotional return
Welcome to our live blog of today’s Miami Open round-of-64 match between Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa.
The contest is likely to be an emotional affair, being the first match since Sabalenka’s ex-boyfriend, the ice hockey player Konstantin Koltsov, plunged to his death in an apparent suicide from a hotel balcony near Miami Beach.
Sabalenka, the World No 2, said her heart was broken by the “unthinkable tragedy” but the 25-year-old Belarusian managed to continue preparing for today’s match, taking to the practice courts in Miami this week.
The two-time Australian Open champion posted on Instagram: “Konstantin’s death is an unthinkable tragedy, and while we were no longer together, my heart is broken. Please respect my privacy and his family’s privacy during this difficult time.”
Police referred to Koltsov’s death as “an apparent suicide” saying they had been called to the hotel at 12.39am on Monday “in reference to a male that jumped from a balcony”.
However, Koltsov’s ex-wife Julija Mikhailova said in an interview in Belarus that she was not convinced her former partner’s death was suicide.
“Most likely he was very drunk. Unfortunately, hockey players are sometimes guilty of this,” said Mikhailova, the mother of Koltsov’s three children.
Koltsov, who was 42, played for the Belarus national team in the 2002 and 2010 Olympics and spent parts of three seasons with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins between 2002 and 2006.
The fresh tragedy follows the death of Sabalenka’s father Sergey, in 2019, after the former ice-hockey player contracted meningitis aged 43.
As if it needed it, today’s match is given an extra emotional layer as Sabalenka and Badosa are close friends.
Spain’s Badosa, the world No 80, said she has been in touch with Sabalenka this week. “I know what she’s going through. I know the entire situation,” Badosa said. “That for me is a little bit shocking also to go through that because at the end she’s my best friend and I don’t want her to suffer. It’s a very tough situation.”
