'It definitely sucks': Bianca Andreescu opens about retirement thoughts after withdrawing from Canadian Open

Canada’s Bianca Andreescu has struggled with fitness concerns throughout her career. Those injury woes continued during the ongoing Canadian Open, where she was forced to withdraw just before the start of the second-round match against Russia’s Mirra Andreeva.

Andreescu suffered an ankle twist during the first-round match against the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova. She came out on top in that match in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4. Andreescu suffered the injury on the match point, which left her in tears during the post-match interview as well.

This was not the first time Andreescu had had to deal with a fitness problem. She has been forced to stay out of action numerous times ever since lifting her only Grand Slam title, the US Open, back in 2019, where she defeated the former world number one Serena Williams in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-5. Last year, Andreescu, while speaking in the Match Point Canada podcast, expressed how difficult it was to deal with consistent injuries and the impact they had on her mental health as well.

"I don't feel like my body is 23 years old because of all the injuries, I've had very bad luck,” said Andreescu back then. “The universe likes to test us in different ways. The toughest test of my life is dealing with physical injuries, on top of mental health issues, which kind of go hand in hand. I don't regret any of them, I have learned a lot about myself through the challenges I have had to face more than through the wins and happy times."

I truly love this sport: Bianca Andreescu

Andreescu spoke to the media after withdrawing from the tournament and talked about her future in the sport. Andreescu stated that, despite the day being tough for her as she was forced to withdraw from a home tournament, it also reminded her how much she loves the sport. “For sure. On my bad days, which yesterday definitely was a very bad day for me, I definitely had different thoughts running through my head,” said Andreescu. But at the end of the day, I know that I truly love this sport.”

Andreescu was then asked about the chances of her retiring from professional tennis because of consistent fitness problems. In response to that, the one-time Grand Slam winner stated that she is still eager to play at the highest level and believes that she still has a lot to achieve. Andreescu admitted that she has faced tough days but remains optimistic that things will improve in the future.

“It's given me so much, and the emotion,” said Andreescu. “So yeah, all I have to do is do my best, and I know that we didn't do anything wrong. Yeah, I guess, I don't know, it just happened. The universe just keeps testing me, but I know it's going to make me stronger, so… It definitely sucks because this has happened before. Honestly, guys, I don't have much to say. It's really frustrating for me and my team, obviously. We're doing the best that we can to prevent these things, but yeah, it's tough. Just an example, last night was incredible being able to play in front of my home crowd and actually win and finish the match off, even though I was still hurt. If you are talking about retirement or whatever, that's definitely - I don't know. Just because obviously I've thought about that too, but no, like, this for me, my goals are still set. Yes, I'm going to have bad days, but I know my goals, and I know what I want to accomplish in this sport.”