Andreescu exits Strasbourg, eyes Roland Garros return

Bianca Andreescu announced her decision to withdraw from the Internationaux de Strasbourg following her second-round win over Maryna Zanevska, citing an abdominal injury.

"Before anyone asks me anything else," she said during her post-match press conference, "I will be pulling out of my next match because I did feel a bit of an ab tear, just a little bit, but I don’t want to push it at all before the French Open. I don’t want to take any risks, so I’ll have to pull out. It’s nothing serious, though. It’s just a little discomfort."

The 2019 US Open champion began to feel the discomfort after hitting a serve in the second set against Zanevska, whom she went on to defeat, 6-1, 6-4. The win put Andreescu into the first WTA clay-court quarterfinal of her career, having missed much of the last three clay swings due to injuries and illness.

"I don’t think it’s anything serious, but in the past, I’ve pushed through a lot of injuries and just made them worse, so I want to learn from those mistakes. That’s why I don’t want to push it before a Grand Slam."

The perennially snake-bitten Andreescu retired from the Miami Open final back in April after an ankle injury, a disappointing end to what had been a triumphant comeback after missing the entire 2020 season due to knee and foot injuries.

"Injuries are part of any athlete’s career; there’s always going to be some little things here and there, that you have to be cautious sometimes and take care of them as much as you can, strengthen, and just learn from past mistakes. Right now, I’m much better at scheduling tournaments and scheduling my training, all of that. I think that’s very important to be getting better in the gym and on the court with different exercises."

Though a positive COVID-19 test postponed anticipated debuts at the Mutua Madrid Open and Internazionali BNL d'Italia, the Canadian had looked back to her best this week in Strasbourg, earning both wins in straight sets.

"It’s nice to be back, first of all, to be playing on clay. A lot of the preparation before this has been really great. I think I portrayed that in my matches, and was super clean. Hopefully I can take this momentum into the next tournament and keep getting some wins."

Andreescu last played Roland Garros in 2019, where she made her main-draw debut and won her first round before a nagging shoulder injury forced her out of a meeting with Sofia Kenin, who went on to shock 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the third round.