Bianca Andreescu’s return to action has been delayed by health scare
Bianca Andreescu has suffered another tough setback in her bid to return to tennis as she has been forced to undergo emergency surgery.
The Canadian has struggled with injury and illness over the past few weeks and missed the Australian Summer Swing, including the Australian Open.
Andreescu was set to make her 2025 debut at the Merida Open in Mexico at the end of February, but she has pulled out of the WTA Tour 500 tournament after a health scare.
The 2019 US Open winner confirmed that she had to undergo an operation to have her appendix removed.
“Quick life update – training was going so well and I was very excited for the @wtameridaopen to be my first tournament of the 2025 season.
“However, I unexpectedly started experiencing some sharp pain in my stomach, which led to an emergency appendectomy. The surgery went smoothly, and I am on the road to recovery.
“My plan is to be back on the court for the clay season, stronger than ever.”
Besides the Merida event, Andreescu will also miss the Indian Wells Open – a tournament she won in 2019 – and the Miami Open where she finished runner-up in 2021.
The 24-year-old has not played competitive tennis since the Pan Pacific Open last October and has slipped to No 130 in the WTA Rankings.
There is a bit of good news for Andreescu as she doesn’t have any points to defend from now until the French Open as she only made her 2024 debut at Roland Garros after taking an extended break from the game.
She then reached the final of the Libema Open on grass, but suffered several early exits during the second half of the season.
But Andreescu was pleased with her comeback as she admitted in a piece in the Player’s Tribute that she has found her joy in tennis again.
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“I’m not just playing for myself, I’m playing to inspire. Even if I lose, let’s say, if I give my best then I’m still winning, because people can see my faith and perseverance, “she wrote. “And maybe they can feel their own version of that. This was the biggest realization I’ve come to.
“There was a time when I lost my joy in tennis. But I found it again. And I learned that I will always love tennis deep in my heart, no matter what. It has given me so much.
“So much that whenever I leave the tunnel and step out onto the court, I always feel a bit of that magic from before. I still think that anything is possible.
“And I don’t know, maybe that makes me crazy.”
The clay season gets underway on 31 March with the Charleston Open and Copa Colsanitas before the WTA Tour heads to Europe.