A tennis champion is dealing with a serious injury. While competing in a match at the Miami Open, Bianca Andreescu suffered two torn ligaments, and it’s not clear when she will return to action. Andreescu was playing in her fourth-round match against Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday and left the court in a wheelchair after screaming in pain.
On Wednesday, Andreescu gave an update on her injury. “It’s tough to say exactly how long it will take, but let’s just say it could’ve been much worse !!” Andreescu wrote on Twitter. “I’m going to take it day by day, and I am optimistic that with the right work, rehab, and preparation, I’ll be back on court soon.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Andreescu, 22, is no stranger to injury as she retired from her semifinal match at the Thailand Open in February due to an injured shoulder. In 2019, Andreescu won the US Open by beating Serena Williams. In that same year, Andreescu defeated Williams again to win the Canadian Open. She had a career-high ranking of No. 4 in the world and is the highest-ranked Canadian in the history of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). Before the injury at the Miami Open, Andreescu was ranked No. 31 in the world.
In an interview with the Associated Press earlier this year, Andreescu talked about her health issues over the years, including contracting COVID-19 which derailed her career in 2021 and slowed her in 2021 also. “That was when I started to ask myself the question: Is this worth it? Is this life worth it? Because I was very stressed out with many things: People in my life; the way I was looking at myself in the mirror,” Andreescu said. “Just holding a tennis racket, I didn’t feel happy anymore. Or content. Because usually, going on the court is my getaway place — and it stopped feeling like that.
“Do I keep pushing and pushing and hope for the best? Or do I take a step back? So that’s what I did. I took a break. And I did other things outside of tennis. I did a lot of charity work. I traveled to a few places. Hung out with friends I hadn’t hung out with in two or three years. I started playing soccer again. I did some skating. I started martial arts. I did dancing. A bunch of other things. And it really made me appreciate tennis even more.”
