Simona Halep and Jasmine Paolini were defeated on Friday by Caroline Garcia and Elena Rybakina in a doubles set at the World Tennis League.
This is an exhibition tournament, and the matches are one-set affairs. The doubles match between Kites and Falcons at the World Tennis League ended 7-6 in favor of Falcons, after a balanced set. Halep and Paolini led 2-0 at the start of the exhibition set, but Caroline Garcia and Elena Rybakina turned the score around and led 4-2.
At the end of the set, Simona and Jasmine Paolini leveled the score at 5, and then a tie-break was needed. Ultimately, Falcons prevailed 7-6 against the Kites team. Simona Halep will also play the singles match between Kites and Falcons, against Elena Rybakina, on Friday, December 20.
The tournament continues on Saturday, December 21, with the final scheduled for Sunday.
The World Tennis League is being held in Abu Dhabi, with guaranteed prizes of 20 million dollars.