Bianca Andreescu learning from 2021 disappointment, hoping to bounce back on hardcourt

Bianca Andreescu got truthful utilized to winning successful 2019 she astir forgot what felt similar to lose.

The 21-year-old Canadian tennis prima has been relearning to woody with disappointment connected the tribunal this play portion trying to find her footing aft 16 months disconnected owed to injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Andreescu won 3 tournaments successful 2019 including her archetypal Grand Slam rubric astatine the U.S. Open, skyrocketing to No. 4 connected the WTA rankings and cementing herself arsenic a look of women’s tennis.

But erstwhile her breakthrough play ended abruptly with a genu wounded astatine the WTA Finals successful Shenzhen that October, Andreescu felt similar she had crashed backmost down to world — hard.

“It was a implicit halt … and that was astir apt the worst feeling that I had,” Andreescu said successful a caller interrogation with The Canadian Press. “It brought maine down galore levels, due to the fact that aft that I didn’t play for a twelvemonth and a half.

“You spell from that precocious to that debased … And it’s like, however bash I get backmost into that zone?”

Still ranked No. 5, Andreescu has played conscionable 19 matches this season, including a first-round exit astatine Wimbledon past month.

While she looked to person regained her title signifier astatine the Miami Open successful April, Andreescu was forced to discontinue from that last with an ankle injury. A fewer weeks later, she withdrew from the Madrid Open aft investigating affirmative for COVID-19.

The past twelvemonth has brought galore changes and challenges for the Mississauga, Ont., native, including pandemic restrictions that importantly impacted her grooming regimen, and a parting of ways with long-time manager Sylvain Bruneau.

“This twelvemonth was astir adapting a lot,” she said.

“But I deliberation I dealt with it successful the champion mode I could and I learned a batch astir myself. … I effort to conscionable determination guardant and woody with thing that comes my mode and larn from it.”

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Andreescu is partnering with Amazon Canada this summertime to stock stories of her experiences connected and disconnected the tribunal done the Alexa dependable service, the institution announced Tuesday.

The contented besides includes grooming and information tips from Andreescu, who said her extremity with the collaboration was to “inspire others and bring joyousness to peoples’ lives.”

“During this clip with the pandemic, things haven’t been casual for everyone,” she said. “So I anticipation this tin bring immoderate smiles to peoples’ faces.”

The pandemic has turned a spotlight connected intelligence wellness concerns for many, including immoderate wrong the tennis world.

Japanese prima and satellite No. 2 Naomi Osaka furthered the speech connected intelligence wellness erstwhile she withdrew from the French Open successful June, saying successful a connection she had dealt with “long bouts of depression” aft winning the U.S. Open arsenic a 20-year-old successful 2018. She besides withdrew from Wimbledon weeks later.

Andreescu, who was 19 erstwhile she won the U.S. Open, tin subordinate to Osaka connected immoderate levels.

Both players bushed American superstar Serena Williams successful New York and dealt with accrued media and instrumentality attraction successful the aftermath of their archetypal Grand Slam titles, arsenic good arsenic soaring expectations to proceed winning.

Andreescu called the flood of attraction “overwhelming.”

“At archetypal it was large due to the fact that I was winning and doing good … (but) past it got to a constituent wherever I got injured again, I didn’t play successful 2020, truthful determination were a batch of times media (would) accidental rude things,” she added.

Andreescu is presently preparing to support her rubric astatine the National Bank Open, which begins adjacent period successful Montreal. The event, formerly known arsenic the Rogers Cup, wasn’t held successful 2020.

While Andreescu’s assured successful her hard-court play and feels she tin bounce backmost connected location soil, she doesn’t privation to enactment excessively overmuch unit connected herself.

“The past mates months person been beauteous pugnacious … but I’m not ever gonna triumph and I person to look astatine that reality,” she said. “I person to spell done different things to find my mode to the apical again.”