Bianca Andreescu has only been playing professional tennis for five years, but she has already reached dizzying heights and experienced several lows.
The Canadian turned pro in 2017, and two years later, she made her breakthrough on the WTA Tour as she won her maiden title, the Indian Wells Open, in March before going on to become the first Canadian to win the Rogers Cup since 1969.
A few weeks after her Canadian Open success, she stunned the tennis world as she won her maiden Grand Slam, defeating the great Serena Williams in the US Open final to become the first Canadian to win a major singles title.
But after the highs came the lows as she struggled with injury during the final few weeks of the 2019 season and early parts of the 2020 season, while the Covid-19 pandemic also contributed to a loss of form and mental health concerns.
Andreescu took a break mental health break from the sport in late 2024 and early 2024, missing the Australian Open. She only returned in April, but by June, she was back in a final, finishing runner-up in the Bad Homburg Open.
But her time away from sport did wonders for her mentally and physically as she is starting to “love herself” on and off the court.
“That’s been the biggest thing for me this past year, is trying to love myself as best as I can,” she told ausopen.com.
“Honestly, it’s really helped me get to this point right now, just having that love for myself off the court. Because before, it was more result-oriented, and when I’d lose, it would be like the end of the world.
“But now I’m so in tune with myself.”
