“I realised…,” Bianca Andreescu reveals she was about to quit tennis during her injury hiatus

“I realised…,” Bianca Andreescu reveals she was about to quit tennis during her injury hiatus

Bianca Andreescu

Bianca Andreescu, who won the 2019 US Open became an overnight sensation. The Canadian was a sensation throughout the Grand Slam and played some scintillating tennis to emerge as a shock winner. However, since then her career has gone completely south. With the advent of COVID-19 and persistent injury problems, Andreescu missed the entirety of 2020 and then she battled with mental health issues and was away from the court for a long time.

This year, Andreescu is yet to take the court and her first tournament on her comeback will be the WTA Stuttgart Open. Ahead of the event, the 21-year-old opened up on several thoughts that came t her head when he was battling with her mental health issues. The youngster also shared how she once thought of quitting the sport.

“I’m being really honest here, but I actually wanted to quit the sport,” Andreescu told WTA Insider this week in Stuttgart. “It was really bad. I am privileged in a way for having this opportunity and doing all of this. Now I’m very grateful, more than ever. So I don’t want people to think, ‘Oh you’re a little baby, just suck it up.’ But it was an accumulation of two-and-a-half years. A lot had happened and I just didn’t want to deal with anything anymore.

“So I realized that I really do love the sport and I do want to continue, but not just to win Grand Slams, or to do this and that. I want to do something bigger in the sport and I want to help contribute to a better world as well. I realize that tennis is my way toward that,” She continued. It was a tough period for the Canadian youngster who fortunately realised that tennis is her path to greatness and also to find peace in life.

Former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu will play her first tournament this year in Stuttgart

Bianca Andreescu
Bianca Andreescu

However, Bianca Andreescu will be officially eating at the WTA Stuttgart Open which is also known as the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The event is featuring some of the top WTA players and it will be a very exciting sight to see the 21-year-old back on the court fighting out for points. She decided to delay her start to the season as she battled with mental health issues and wanted to recover completely before resuming tennis again.

Andreescu shared how she was bored of not challenging herself to push her limits and not competing against others to win titles. The Canadian overall missed tennis and decided that she has to come back as soon as possible. Therefore she is here and is keen to prepare for the upcoming Roland Garros.

“I never really felt like I was completely ready [to come back],” the 21-year old told reporters at Media Day in Stuttgart. “I’m not sure that anyone is for sure ready for something.

“But I just felt like my time off was enough. I kind of got tired and bored of not challenging myself on the court. I really missed that fire that I had competing and pushing myself. So I think that was when I thought it would be good to start playing again.”

The former US Open champion will start off her WTA Stuttgart campaign against local favourite Jule Niemeier in the first round of the event. Andreescu will obviously be tentative but her fans hope that she will be able to battle the initial butterflies and quickly get settled into the game.

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