HOT CORNER

PRO TENNIS:

Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has returned to professional tennis after getting her doping suspension reduced on appeal. Halep played her first match in about 1½ years Tuesday. It was a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 loss to Paula Badosa at the Miami Open. Halep looked terrific in the first set but then encountered trouble, including having a trainer massage her right shoulder during a changeover late in the second. The 32-year-old from Romania, who reached No. 1 in the WTA rankings in 2017, smiled briefly and waved to spectators as she walked off the court.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

Florida A&M is moving on from basketball coach Robert McCullum after seven seasons. Florida’s only public historically Black university announced it will not renew McCullum’s contract, which expires at the end of June. McCullum went 67-133 during his tenure with the Rattlers, including a 53-61 mark in conference play. The team finished 6-23 this past season. McCullum was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2021. The school will form a committee to conduct a national search for FAMU’s next head coach.

PRO BASKETBALL:

The Phoenix Suns have signed two-time All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas to a 10-day contract. The 35-year-old hasn’t played in the NBA since 2022 but recently appeared in four games with the Salt Lake City Stars in the NBA G League, averaging 32.5 points. The Suns are searching for some scoring punch off the bench as they make their postseason push. Thomas played 46 games with the Suns during the 2014-15 season, averaging 15.2 points. Thomas has a career scoring averaging of 17.7 points in 550 career games with the Kings, Suns, Celtics, Cavaliers, Lakers, Nuggets, Wizards, Pelicans, Mavericks and Hornets.

PRO SOCCER:

The Portland Timbers have acquired Uruguayan forward Jonathan Rodriguez from Liga MX team Club America through 2026 with a club option for another year. Rodriguez has 21 goals and seven assists in 65 appearances across all competitions over the past two seasons with Club America. He also has made 31 appearances with Uruguay’s national team, scoring three goals. Rodriguez joins the Timbers as a designated player.

OLYMPICS:

A second runner on the Olympic refugee team has been implicated in doping while preparing for the Paris Games. Track and field’s Athletics Integrity Unit says Dominic Lokolong Atiol has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for trimetazidine. The banned heart medication got Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva banned for four years in a case that rocked the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Lokolong Atiol is a refugee from South Sudan.