US Open champion Bianca Andreescu‘s 2019 season can only be described as miraculous, but it’s ending with a heartbreak — the 19-year-old’s first participation at the WTA Finals has been cut short because of a left knee injury.
After wasting a match point in defeat to Simona Halep in her first round-robin match, Andreescu confidently opened her Wednesday’s Purple Group encounter with Karolina Pliskova. However, leading 2-0, the Canadian made a move to return a wide serve to the forehand and all of a sudden she couldn’t stand on her left leg. She seemed to be in a lot of pain, but after a medical timeout, during which her knee was heavily taped, to my surprise, she decided to bravely continue the match.
My knee twisted, I heard a crack, she validated me that it’s my mensicus. I can’t bend my knee at all. It’s cracking every time I walk and it friggin’ hurts.
Obviously, Andreescu’s movement was drastically reduced and even though she remained competitive to an extent, there was nothing she could do against Pliskova and the Czech comfortably won the first set 6-3. Being one set down, Andreescu knew that there was nothing she could hope for and retired from the match.
The eight-women field at the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen has already seen two withdrawals, as Naomi Osaka pulled out on Tuesday due to a right shoulder injury.
Andreescu is eliminated from semifinal qualification, while Pliskova and Halep will play each other to try to join Elina Svitolina as the semifinalist from the Purple Group.
