"My body couldn’t handle it, I was always tired" - Bianca Andreescu opens up about physical struggles, injury crisis after breakthrough 2019 season
Canadian tennis player Bianca Andreescu shared about her health troubles in 2019, the year which marked her US Open and Canadian Open wins against the legendary Serena Williams. Andreescu said she constantly felt tired after every match but continued performing through every pain.
Andreescu, the Canadian WTA player with a career-high ranking of No. 4, had a breakout year in 2019. She started the year by making it to the final at the Auckland Open, followed by her first singles title at the Indian Wells Open. In the latter event, she became the first woman since Serena Williams in 1999 to win the singles tournament at 18.
At the 2019 Canadian Open, Andreescu defeated the then-No. 10 Williams and became the first Canadian to claim the tournament victory since Faye Urban in 1969. She added her first Grand Slam title at the US Open the same year, defeating Williams again in straight sets. Her effort in her main draw debut catapulted her to World No. 5.
Despite back-to-back wins, Andreescu closed out her year after withdrawing from the 2019 WTA Finals due to a knee injury. In her story in The Players' Tribune blog, the 24-year-old shared about her health crisis amid her breakthrough year and how she performed through pain and won.
"My body couldn’t handle it. I was getting injured and injured and injured. I was always so tired. After matches, I would just plump on the bed and legit not move a muscle. I would play through every pain, and I would win. To the point where that became the expectation — winning," she wrote.
Andreescu added:
"At first, I didn’t associate it with pressure. I didn’t experience it like an unfair expectation that people thought I would win. It was more like it instilled this confidence in me that they believed that I could."
Bianca Andreescu - "The only thing I really regret is that I didn’t live in the moment"
In 2019, when Bianca Andreescu was at the top of her game, winning titles, she didn't savor the post-match moments enough because the thought of winning more occupied her mind.
"The only thing I really regret is that I didn’t live in the moment a little bit more, to be honest. Everything was so hectic, and rushed. I think the reason that I didn’t was because in the back of my mind I thought I was going to keep winning," she wrote in The Players' Tribunal blog.
Andreesu will clash against Italian player Jasmine Paolini in the first round of the 2024 US Open on August 28. She will be vying for her second Grand Slam title.