This is correct according to PEP 8 styling for python code but in terms of 1 liners, hardly most of them follow this structure. I guess it's all based on preference.

According to PEP 8 – Style Guide for Python Code

Imports are always put at the top of the file, just after any module comments and docstrings, and before module globals and constants

Additionally,

Compound statements (multiple statements on the same line) are generally discouraged:

Correct:

if foo == 'blah':
    do_blah_thing()
do_one()
do_two()
do_three()

Rather not:

# Wrong:
if foo == 'blah': do_blah_thing()
do_one(); do_two(); do_three()

I don't think it matters if you use an import outside or inside since the code is still one line right?

Issues are for problems with the kata, not problems with your code. It sounds like your code is too slow, or perhaps gets caught in some kind of loop. You can post your code here (make sure to mark it as a Spoiler) if you want help debugging it.

Python 3.10 - Times out after first test

Nice, but the test cases in this kata only contain lower case letters.

same issue here

You're probably not returning anything, and without seeing your code it's impossible to tell what's wrong for sure. In any case, not a kata issue.

I checked the Python version of the kata and it seems to work well. Most probably your solution is not correct. Please see this bullet point for a potential cause: https://docs.codewars.com/training/troubleshooting#.print-vs-return or see if the linked article has anything helpful.

The outputs are exactly the same as what the test cases require but the tests fail anyway. I'm using Python if that helps.