After more than a year away from tennis, Canada’s Bianca Andreescu flew to Australia, endured hard quarantine and was ready to make her return at the Grampians Trophy, only to confuse the tennis world with the withdrawal from the event, a day before its start.
The February 3-7 Grampians Trophy is the WTA’s third Australian Open lead-up tournament, created specifically for players who were in strict lockdown. The world number eight Andreescu was the top seed and everyone was eagerly awaiting her comeback. Just three days ago she tweeted two photos of herself all smiles on a tennis court in Melbourne, showing that she was ready to compete again. Today, the Canadian revealed her decision to skip the event, in order to focus on her preparation for the Australian Open.
Following the last two weeks in quarantine, it feels so good to finally be back on the court. After discussing it with my team, we have decided to focus this week on training for the Australian Open and miss the Grampians.
At the Grampians Trophy, the 20-year-old Andreescu was supposed to play either Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez or American Sloane Stephens in the second round after a first-round bye.
Andreescu hasn’t competed since a knee injury ruined her debut at the WTA Finals in October 2019, shortly after her back-to-back title runs at the Rogers Cup and US Open.
