Bianca Andreescu ‘extremely motivated’ to get back on court as she prepares for comeback

Bianca Andreescu in China

She hasn’t played any tennis in over a year and her coach admits it will take “a little bit of an adaption”, but Bianca Andreescu is excited to get back on court.

After an exceptional breakthrough season in 2019 during which she won her first title at the Indian Wells Master and became the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles trophy when she lifted the US Open, Andreescu has struggled with injury.

Her last competitive match was at the WTA Finals in October 2019 and, after initially being on course to make a return in March this year, her plans were disrupted when the sport was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

When tennis resumed in August, Andreescu and her coaching team opted to write off the 2020 season in an attempt to “come back stronger” next year.

‘I will be taking the rest of the season off,’ says Bianca Andreescu as injury nightmare continues

Her coach Sylvain Bruneau believes her injuries “are now of the past”.

“It was a very hard year. We trained in Monte-Carlo to fully recover from her knee injury,” he told Match Point Canada.

“She was ready to make her return at Indian Wells, but all the tournaments were cancelled by the pandemic.

“During the summer we trained to prepare for the comeback, but she was sidelined by a foot injury and we had to stop training.

“I am optimistic that injuries are now part of the past. Her breakthrough was so fast, that she was not ready to play many high level matches in a short period of time.”

Bruneau concedes that the 20-year-old will need a little bit of time to get 100% match fit again, but feels she will “thrive on competition”.

“Bianca gives her best in hard-fought matches and has to find the competitive feeling,” he added.

“She is going to be totally happy and excited to go back on the court and compete and is extremely motivated. The other side is that you get used to pressure by being put into it a little bit.

“When you are not facing that music for a little while, there is going to be a little bit of an adaptation, but Bianca, just by her nature, has always been someone who has thrived on competition.”

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