‘A lot has changed since I won Indian Wells in 2019,’ reckons Bianca Andreescu

‘A lot has changed since I won Indian Wells in 2019,’ reckons Bianca Andreescu

Bianca Andreescu

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World No.21 Bianca Andreescu hasn’t tasted much success in the previous two seasons on the WTA tour. Injuries, coupled with drop in form have derailed the Canadian’s progress over the past two years.

That said, Andreescu won the first, big title of her career at the Indian Wells in 2019 at only 18 years of age. Since the tournament was cancelled in 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, she will take the court as the defending champion of the BNP Paribas Open.

However, the 21-year-old did admit about how she has mixed emotions of returning to the desert as the defending champion. “Do I feel like a defending champion? Yes and no,” Andreescu told desertsun. “I’m sure when I get there and see my picture on the wall it will ring some bells. But so much has changed since then, you have no idea.”

Last year, the young Canadian even managed to tweak things around in her support team. From new coach, fitness trainer to agency, Andreescu completely overhauled her clan.

Ahead of the 2021 US Open, Andresscu roped in renowned coach Sven Groeneveld, who has a rich experience of working with former World No.1’s Monica Seles, Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic.

“I really like Sven, he’s really giving me a different perspective in a lot of areas, and I want to thank him for that because he’s helped me a lot so far. This is just the beginning between me and him. I’m looking forward to what we can do together,” the 2019 US Open winner explained.

Andreescu happy with her progress ahead of Indian Wells

Bianca Andreescu
Bianca Andreescu

Lack of match play and extended absence from the tour has also seen Andreescu drop from No.6 to No.21 in the rankings. As a result, she is expected to face a tricky opponent as she tries to defend her title in California.

However, Andreescu is pretty confident about her recent progress and also opined that her confidence is slowly getting back on track. “I’d say my game is still definitely a work in progress, but I feel much better than I did a couple months ago,” Andreescu reckoned.

“I think the U.S. Open run increased my confidence, and physically my confidence is up as well. … Just to be able to come back (to Indian Wells) as the defending champion and hopefully accomplish the same thing feels really good.”

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