Bianca Andreescu begins preparations for clay-court swing as she nears comeback
Bianca Andreescu has begun preparations for the clay season as she inches closer to a comeback after suffering a terrible injury at the Miami Open last month. Andreescu began training a few days ago after going through a few weeks of recovery from an ankle injury.
While her practice session last week was on a hard court, Andreescu now seems to have embraced the red dirt as the clay swing gradually approaches its business end. Andreescu shared a picture while training on a clay court.
Andreescu could next be seen in action at the Madrid Open, which begins next week.
The Canadian No. 1 has been on the sidelines ever since she slipped and suffered a horrible fall in her Miami Open Round of 16 clash against Ekaterina Alexandrova. She was unable to continue and retired from the match soon after, forced to leave the court in a wheelchair. She called it the "worst pain she ever felt" and there were fears that Andreescu could be out of action for a long time as she had torn two ligaments in her ankle.
Before the injury, she beat Emma Raducanu, Maria Sakkari, and Sofia Kenin to reach the last-16.
The 22-year-old was also set to represent Canada in the team's Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers tie against Belgium last week but was eventually replaced in the team by Katherine Sebov. However, Andreescu chose to extend her support to Team Canada from the sidelines and flew down to Vancouver for the tie.
Despite not being able to play, Andreescu was excited to help and motivate her teammates.
“Everybody knows how to play tennis, everybody knows what to do, it’s more motivational things I would say. You’re doing amazing, keep it up, play with your heart, give everything you have, little things like that," Andreescu said on her BJK Cup appearance.
Bianca Andreescu's 2023 season so far
Bianca Andreescu's 2023 season began at the Adelaide International before she resumed Grand Slam duty at the Australian Open. The Canadian was stunned by Spain's Cristina Bucsa in the second round in Melbourne. She then reached her first and only semi-final so far this season at the Thailand Open as the top seed, before losing in the opening round at both the Abu Dhabi Open and the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Andreescu then competed at Indian Wells, where she lost to World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the second round. Her performance at the Miami Open was her most impressive run of the season so far.