Paula Badosa is back as the Spanish player teamed up with good friend Aryna Sabalenka for a doubles match against Mirra Andreeva and Sofia Kenin at the World Tennis League in Abu Dhabi.
The first tie at the event was a pretty interesting one, which ultimately went down to the wire. Elena Rybakina bested Iga Swiatek in the crucial match to give her team the win, and the second tie started with a pretty exciting affair as well.
Badosa officially returned to the tennis courts after months of injury problems, teaming up with her good friend Sabalenka. They were the huge favorites in this one and dominated from the start.
Due to the tournament's format, starting well is crucial. The exhibition event features a unique format: Players are paired up in teams of four, and each tie between teams consists of five matches, mixed doubles, men's doubles, women's doubles, men's singles, and women's singles.
Each match consists of one set, three of which are doubles, and the remaining ones are singles. Winning a game counts as one point, which is most important. At the end of each tie, the winning team is the one that has the most points.
Because of how math works, the team that wins three out of the five likely wins the tie unless the other team manages to win dominantly 6-0 6-0, or something similar.
Eventually, Badosa and Sabalenka predictably broke their opponents to take a 5-3 lead, finishing the match off with 6-3. A really great start for the Kites, who are leading 6-3 after this first match.
We'll see four more matches and the team who has more points (one game means one point) will ultimately win the tie. Expect more great matches coming up, including Badosa teaming up with boyfriend Tsitsipas in the doubles. Tsitsidosa debut!
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