"That's when the issue started" - Bianca Andreescu reveals how her career went downhill after Naomi Osaka defeat in 2019
Bianca Andreescu said that her injury issues started during the 2019 China Open, where she lost to Naomi Osaka in the Canadian Open. It was the very first encounter between the two.
Andreescu made history in 2019, as she became the first player born in the 21st century to win a Grand Slam. The Canadian won that year's US Open by defeating Serena Williams in the final.
Shortly after the US Open, Andreescu competed at the China Open as the fifth seed and reached the quarterfinals following wins over Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Elise Mertens and Jennifer Brady. Here, she faced fourth seed Naomi Osaka and won the opening set 7-5. However, the Japanese fought back to register a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win. Osaka went on to win the tournament after beating Ashleigh Barty in the final.
Bianca Andreescu appeared on The Tennis Podcast and spoke about how her foot problems started during the 2019 China Open. The Canadian said that she started to feel some pain in her foot during the tournament in Beijing.
"I went on the Asian swing and I felt really good. I was riding that wave and I had a great match against Naomi. Even though I lost, I fought really, really well, and that's kind of when the issue started. That tournament, I started having some pain in my foot and then that's why I missed a tournament, I had to go back home to see my doctor," Andreescu said
"I wasn't sure if I was going to play the WTA Finals. It was like 'Okay, this was the moment we've all been waiting for, the WTA Finals, the off-season, you'll have a few weeks off, and then you'll start again, no issues,'" she added.
The Canadian said that she returned to tour sooner than she should have, given her foot injury. She recalled her opening match at the WTA Finals against Simona Halep before retiring during her match against Karolina Pliskova and subsequently, withdrawing from the tournament.
"Looking back, I don't want to say I made the wrong decision because everything happens for a reason, but I definitely came back too soon because of my foot injury. I had maybe like five days to train before the tournament but I literally said "F it" and I played. I had a great match against Simona (Halep), had match point, ended up losing, and then, was super sore after that," Bianca Andreescu said.
"I didn't know how I was going to play against (Karolina) Pliskova and I think in the back of my head, I was feeling super guilty about playing because in a way, I wasn't ready, and I think my body kind of heard that or felt that and I ended up twisting my knee and that put me out until Indian Wells of next year when I was ready to play," she added.
Bianca Andreescu has won four matches so far since returning from latest injury hiatus
Bianca Andresscu had some promising performances at the start of the 2023 season, most notably reachig the fourth round of the Miami Open. However, the Canadian suffered an injury during her match against Ekaterina Alexandrova and left the court on a wheelchair.
Andreescu returned to action during the clay season and reached the third round of the French Open and Wimbledon.
However, her 2023 season ended after the Canadian Open. The Canadian missed the US Open due to a back stress fracture. She took a ten-month break from tennis and returned to action at French Open 2024.
Bianca Andreescu started the clay-court Major with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Sara Sorribes Tormo and set up a second-round clash against 23rd seed Anna Kalinskaya. The Canadian lost the first set 1-6 but produced a spectacular comeback to register a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 win and reach the third round of the French Open for the second successive year.
Here, she faced 12th seed Jasmine Paolini and put up a valiant fight, especially in the second set before losing 3-6, 6-1, 0-6. Paolini went on to reach the final where she lost to Iga Swiatek.
Bianca Andreescu started the grass-court season at the Libema Open in 's-Hertogenbosch and did not have the best of starts in her opening match against Eva Vedder, as the latter won the first set. However, the 23-year-old fought back to register a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win and reach the Round of 16.
Here, the Canadian triumphed 6-4, 6-4 over sixth seed Yue Yuan to book her place in the quarterfinals, where she is playing Naomi Osaka (at the time of writing).
Bianca Andreescu has so far won four out of five matches so far in the 2024 season.