Bianca Andreescu set to make her return after 6 months at Stuttgart Open
Bianca Andreescu last played a competitive tennis match in October at Indian Wells, where she lost to Anett Kontaveit in the third round. An unfortunate combination of mental and physical health issues have kept the Canadian out of action since, even forcing her to withdraw from the Australian Open at the beginning of the year.
But the World No. 44 is set to bring an end to her hiatus at the Stuttgart Open, which will be held from 18-24 April. The entry list for the WTA 500 event was released a couple of days ago and features Andreescu as one of the alternates.
The 21-year-old is the eighth alternate, meaning she will get direct entry into the main draw only if eight players pull out. If that does not happen, the Canadian will have to go through the qualifiers or wait for a wildcard. She is likely to get one, considering she is a Grand Slam champion.
The claycourt tournament is headlined by four of the top five and eight of the top 10 players in the world, including Iga Swiatek, Maria Sakkari and Barbora Krejcikova.
Stuttgart Entry List…lots of notable names, including Bianca Andreescu as an Alternate https://t.co/ClcdnWlEMJ
Bianca Andreescu set to drop out of the top 100 after the Miami Open
Bianca Andreescu was ranked World No. 21 when she last competed but the Canadian is slated to hit triple digits in terms of ranking by the time she makes her return in Stuttgart. The former World No. 4 finished as the runner-up at last year's Miami Open, meaning she will lose 650 points when the current edition ends on 3 April.
Late night thrills 🎢
Bianca Andreescu survives a three-set match with Sakkari to make her first final since the US Open in 2019 👀 https://t.co/jNIoH9UEsD
As a result, the former US Open winner will drop out of the top 100. She is projected to fall to 118, her lowest position since 2019, the year she broke into the top 10 for the first time in her career.
But Bianca Andreescu is not defending too many points over the rest of the season. She did not reach a single semifinal after Miami (first-round exit at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, fourth round at the US Open) and her only quarter-final appearance came at the WTA 250 event in Strasbourg, amounting to 60 ranking points.
😄 https://t.co/Jb0WoRo1sn
The Canadian is currently training at the IMG Academy in Florida, hoping to get back in shape ahead of her return to action.
What a marathon win for Sakkari!
After Kvitova, Maria Sakkari defeats another Grand Slam winner with Bianca Andreescu, defeated after a 3h30 fight 6-7 7-6 6-3 to reach US Open quarter-finals https://t.co/HADTcedpGk