Throughout the last decades we have seen many crack projects in women’s tennis that, for one reason or another, ended up fading under pressure, the demand to add consistent results or the appearance of superior talents that ended up eclipsing them. The cast of single WTA Grand Slam winners has been augmented by a host of supporting actresses, but among them there are always several who stand out for tennis reasons, prodigious talents lost in the sea of competition WTA. When Bianca Andreescu emerged in the year 2019the feeling is that we had before us a truly winning project: a total player capable of doing absolutely everything on court and with an overwhelming ability to play the important moments well. But that star faded… until today.
Bianca Andreescu’s 2019 was an imperial year. One of those seasons that confirms you as a candidate for everything, one of those that makes you think big. Two WTA 1000 titles, knocking down giants who dominated the circuit along the way (Angelique Kerber or Serena Williams, among others). The magical two weeks in Flushing Meadowsthose of a US Open unforgettable where, again, Bianca defied history to go over Serena. It seemed that this complete tennis player was destined to dominate the women’s circuit: her variety marked the way before the lineage of punchers, the geniuses found order and her ability to be a “disruptor” of the linear rhythm of many of her opponents heralded great results in the circuit.
However, 2020 started with physical problems that left it blank at the beginning of the season… and when the pandemic exploded in the world, the order in Bianca Andreescu’s tennis life was blown up. Coming back has never been so complicated, with the pressure of defending the results obtained a year ago and the feeling that your body is not working with you. It could even be said that Andreescu suffered a loss of identity, she forgot about her unpredictability and her repertoire and tried to strengthen a plan A serve and forehand. It was never her thing, but Bianca wanted immediate solutions to the lack of rhythm, to the lack of confidence, to the failures of a punished body.
Seeing Andreescu’s history in Grand Slam today is an exercise that gives us curious results. In New York he has one of the best balance sheets in history, a 10-1 (winner in 2019, round of 16 in 2021) that speaks volumes about how comfortable she feels in North America. Outside the borough of Queens? Neither in Melbourne nor in Paris nor in London does he even have a positive balance of victories and defeats: he never managed to get past the second round in any of these three places, a sign of the paths his tennis career took, mired in irregularity and the ordeal of injuries that plagued him since that Grand Slam.
STUTTGART, THE FIRST STEP TO RECOVER THE BEST BIANCA
Now let me tell you the positive news of the day. Bianca Andreescu is 21 years old.. Yes, how do you hear it? All this carousel of comings and goings, of uncertainty, of bruises on her armor… has occurred in the frantic transition from adolescence to adult life, in the search for emotional independence from her parents, always accompanying her in the box, and even towards his dog. Bianca has an entire sports career ahead of her to get her magic back; she shouldn’t be in a hurry to catch up, but build a solid foundation, starting by taking small steps and finding regularity and confidence in her body.
He demonstrated the first step towards achieving this at the beginning of the year, when he decided not to travel to Australia to recharge his batteries and, above all, recover mentally. The rest of the warrior, some would say. While Bianca traveled, did charity work, and focused on her visualization or yoga techniques (precisely the care she took of her mind was another indicator, in 2019, that we were facing a generational winner), the rest of the world waited. his return to the circuit, which will finally take place in the WTA de Stuttgart, who has agreed to give you an invitation. Today, the expectations are low and the pressure must be minimal: Andreescu must enjoy tennis again, feel the adrenaline of leaving the ball dead at the net, activate all his shots and achieve victories with gradual pace. In a year of return to the circuit, victories and titles will be a bonus… but after waiting a long time, his return is already a triumph for everyone. All in all, Bianca..
