(Paris) Canadian Bianca Andreescu is nervous about returning to the field after nearly 10 months of absence due to a stress fracture in her back.
“I’ve never been so nervous,” the 23-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., said Saturday as she made her final preparations for the French Open.
“I know that means I care a lot. I hope I can use this nervousness to play well. I have to leave everything on the pitch and not hold back too much. »
Andreescu had the best season of her career in 2019 when she won the Indian Wells Open, the Rogers Cup (now renamed the National Bank Open) and the U.S. Open.
PHOTO CHARLES KRUPA, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Bianca Andreescu holds up the championship trophy after defeating Serena Williams in the final of the U.S. Open on September 7, 2019.
On August 13, 2023, she had to withdraw from the Cincinnati Open before the start of the tournament due to a small stress fracture in her back.
“I don’t remember the last time I felt like I do today. I think it’s because I’ve never had so much hope in my tennis, Andreescu said on Saturday.
I’m so grateful my back held up. I have the chance to play again and that means everything to me.
Bianca Andreescu
The draw in Paris did Andreescu no favors. She will face the Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo, who makes her living by winning long, painful and grueling matches with exchanges that drag on. This should be even more true on Parisian clay, which particularly slows down the ball.
Andreescu assured that she no longer felt pain before returning to training four months ago. She described her tennis, at least in practice, as “amazing.”
The key was building his core and glute muscles.
She initially thought she would return to action this week in Morocco, but felt that timetable was too tight. She therefore preferred to wait until Roland-Garros, which will officially begin on Sunday. Andreescu will play her first match on Monday.
Last year, she reached the third round.
Andreescu currently ranks 234e rank in the WTA rankings. She was able to narrowly avoid qualifying since her position of 64e world player was protected due to her injury.
Despite her bad luck, Andreescu sees positives in her long absence. “The goal is to never get injured, but I feel like the more I get injured, the more I learn about myself and the more tools I find to help me recover faster and get better. improve more quickly. »