Bianca Andreescu sustained an extremely painful injury in her Monday night’s fourth-round match against Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Miami Open and was taken off the court in a wheelchair.
After losing the first set in a tiebreak, the 2021 Miami finalist Andreescu started building up a lead in the second set but her comeback was stopped by what can only be described as a devastating injury. With her opponent leading 7-6(0) 0-2 40-30, Andreescu advanced towards the ball while playing a rally and all of a sudden collapsed to the court, clutching her lower left leg and screaming.
Standing ovation for Bianca Andreescu in Miami.
Her mom is in tears. And you can see the look on Bianca’s face as she leaves the court in a wheel chair.
She looks so broken. No one deserves this.
Everyone send her your prayers tonight ???????? pic.twitter.com/FxxG7iQYgZ
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) March 28, 2023
Before assistance arrived, Andreescu was heard saying: “I’ve never felt this kind of pain before.” All the people present on the court, including the chair umpire, Alexandrova, and tournament officials, rushed to provide ice, towels, and emotional support to the Canadian. After a ten-minute treatment, the 22-year-old left the court in a wheelchair to a standing ovation. Her mom was in the stands, crying.
For now, there’s no information about the severity of the injury.
The 18th-seeded Alexandrova is through to the quarterfinals, where she’ll face Petra Kvitova.
UPDATE: Andreescu wrote on social media on Tuesday:
Woke up with a brace on my foot… anyone know what happened? On a serious note tho… that was the worst pain I’ve ever felt… praying for nothing serious. Still waiting on official results. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and kind words, doesn’t go unnoticed.