Bianca Andreescu on playing for her country: "Canada has offered me and my parents so much, so I'm very grateful to play for Canada"
Bianca Andreescu recently spoke about how she felt representing her country at tournaments like the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Andreescu, who had not competed since the Guadalajara Open, returned to action at the Billie Jean King Cup with a 7-6(3), 6-3 victory over Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto in straight sets to give her nation the lead. In a press conference after the match, Andreescu discussed how she felt about returning and playing for her country, remarking with pride that she was grateful to have helped her team get on the scoreboard.
"Yeah, it's great. I think I played great tennis, especially coming back from being 5-2 down. The support from everyone that are in the stands, my cheerleaders from Canada, I'm glad that they came down. Without their support, I don't know if I could have pulled the win today. So I'm very grateful," Bianca Andreescu said.
The 22-year-old stated that she felt a lot of emotion throughout her match and that tournaments like this, where she represents her home country, make it all worth it. Noting that Canada has done a lot for her and her family, the former US Open champion was thankful to have the opportunity to return the favor in some capacity.
"I felt so many emotions today. I got goosebumps sometimes. I mean, I'm always playing for my country, but it's different when it's like a team sport, especially playing with people that you play against that are also from Canada. It's just a different environment. I absolutely love it. Canada has offered me and my parents so much, so I'm very grateful to play for Canada," Andreescu added.
"I don't want to have too high expectations for myself" - Bianca Andreescu on her upcoming season
During the same press conference, Bianca Andreescu was asked how she felt about her tennis coming into the tournament, to which the 22-year-old stated that she felt good mentally and physically and that she was playing great tennis at the moment. Andreescu further added that she knows where to improve and asserted that she wants to take time with herself and not have high expectations.
"I feel pretty good mentally and physically. I think I'm playing great tennis, but I know that there is a lot more that I can improve on. I don't want to rush into anything. I don't want to have, you know, too high expectations for myself," she said.
Most importantly, Andreescu believes that she will have a good preseason and hopes to get into the Top-10 again after a couple of lackluster seasons on tour.
"So I'm just taking it day by day, and it's a great way to end off the year as well, just bringing back all the emotions that fire a lot in me. I think I'm going to have a great preseason. Next year I really think I can crack the top 10 again," she added.