Bianca Andreescu returned to the National Bank Open in Montreal on Tuesday, but it was short lived.
In what started off as a tight match, Andreescu was ultimately handed a loss against opponent Camila Giorgi, eliminating her from the tournament.
While the two went back and forth in games for the majority of the match’s first half, Giorgi, the 51st seed on the WTA rankings, beat the 23-year-old Canadian in two sets (6-3, 6-2) in front of a packed crowd at Montreal’s IGA Stadium.
“She was the boss on court tonight. Not me,” Andreescu said in a press conference.
Since winning the 2019 Canadian and US Open singles championship, Andreescu has faced an uphill battle back to elite tennis while dealing with continual injuries over the last four seasons.
During the second set of Friday’s match, Andreescu appeared to be in discomfort as she sat on the sidelines. When asked if she was still injured, she was hesitant to say yes.
“It’s hard when I keep getting asked this question,” she told reporters after the match. “In a way I am [injured], but I’m not.”
The No. 41 seed said that joint pains in her back held her back from performing at her best against Giorgi.
“With SI [sacroiliac] joint pain it’s very difficult (…) If you do push, you do feel a lot of pain,” she explained. “It did impact my performance, sadly.”
Back in March, during a Miami Open match, Andreescu had to be carted off the court in a wheelchair after tearing two ligaments in her ankle.
“I’ve never felt this kind of pain before,” Andreescu was heard saying on the broadcast while writhing in pain.
As for what lies ahead for the Canadian, she says she is not sure if she will be able to participate in the upcoming Cincinnati Open, which kicks off on August 12.
“I definitely need to take a few days off,” she said. “It just sucks that it started during this tournament.”
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