Bianca Andreescu: 'There's chance to play this week but I don't want to rush things'

World no. 6 Bianca Andreescu wasn't ready to make a comeback at the Australian Open, struggling with an ongoing knee injury ever since November and the WTA Finals. The 19-year-old Canadian was one of the players of the previous season, gaining almost 150 places in the rankings and claiming big titles at Indian Wells, Toronto and the US Open, becoming the first teenager with a Major title since 2006! Bianca achieved all this despite skipping almost all the action between April and August, sidelined with a shoulder injury from Miami and returning at her best only for the North American swing.

Eager to avoid more injuries, the youngster embraced light schedule after New York but that wasn't enough to keep her safe, experiencing that nasty knee injury against Karolina Pliskova at the WTA Finals that forced her to skip both the ASB Classic in Auckland and the Australian Open where she would have been one of the favorites. Now, Bianca is trying her best to make a return at this week's Fed Cup Qualifiers tie against Switzerland in Biel, practicing with the rest of the Canadian squad and hoping to get back at her 100% and help her country in seeking a place at the Fed Cup Finals in April in Budapest. 

"I have been missing to play and compete! It's not easy because I'm injured again, trying my best to prevent as much as possible. It's tough to sit back again and miss the Australian Open, especially after a fantastic year I had in 2019 at the US Open. I'm super eager to start playing again. Don't get me wrong; I'm super happy for everyone who achieved excellent results at the Australian Open, especially Sofia Kenin; she did a fantastic job the whole tournament, I watched many of her matches. I wanted to be in Melbourne and it was tough to skip it.

If there's one thing I learned from being off and not playing is to stay as patient as possible because I have a long career ahead of me, I don't want to rush anything and make things even worse than they are. I think there's still a chance for me to play this weekend. We haven't made any decisions yet but I'm hoping I can play. I believe if I'm healthy mentally, then my knee will sort itself out, but at the same time, I'm going to have to do exercises for it and rest, which I've been doing. But I think the mental part is an extra thing that helps me the most."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2H28cfg