“I am human too”: Bianca Andreescu says she wasn’t faking ailment on home court
Bianca Andreescu is off to the second round of the National Bank Open, but not without dodging a couple apparent heath hazards.
And a snarky comment or two.
Andreescu, 22, defeated Daria Kasatkina, 7-6(5), 6-4 after a couple of medical timeouts during the pressure cooker on home court, but seemingly had to fend off other off-court opponents questioning the legitimacy of the calls to her trainer.
Bianca Andreescu somehow manages to take that first set 7-6(5) vs Daria Kasatkina despite having her blood pressure checked and also being visited again a few points into the breaker by trainers and medical staff.
The #NBO22 crowd approves. pic.twitter.com/tYv9faowtf
— Mike McIntyre (@McIntyreTennis) August 10, 2022
“I’ve been seeing some comments/messages about what happened during my match and wanted to address it,” Andreescu wrote in an Instagram story on Wednesday. “I genuinely did not feel good. Dizzy and nauseous. Nothing to do with my back thankfully but I definitely did not mean to cause any harm/distraction or whatever ppl (sic) have been calling it to my opponent or anything in that matter.
“I rly (sic) wanted to push through. This is the court I grew up on and no was not an option for me tonight.”
Andreescu, who won this event in 2019 before winning the U.S. Open title in a breakout season three years ago, struggled with a back injury in her first-round loss at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic earlier in the month.
The Mississauga, Ontario, product defended the timeouts, dispelling notions she used them for tactical reasons.
🎾 And she is off to the 2️⃣nd round! 💪@Bandreescu_ made her debut at the Canadian Open beating Daria Kasatkina 7-6(5) and 6-4 🙌
This 🇨🇦 will be back on the court Wednesday against Alizé Cornet of 🇫🇷
⏰ Game start 👉 8:15 pm ET
🎥: @WTA / Twitter pic.twitter.com/Xm9WluPQbT
— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) August 10, 2022
“It just makes me sad to see that ppl (sic) really (sic) believe that,” Andreescu wrote. “Us athletes go through injuries, sickness etc, the last thing I want to do is put more of that energy into the air especially if it’s fake?!?! Doesn’t make sense. Yes I wish I was able to not show it but I am human too at the end of the day. Trying being in our position and see how y’all do?
“Anyways I’m happy to see another day here in Toronto and I’m feeling much better.”
Andreescu, currently No. 53 in the rankings, will play Alize Cornet of France in the second round of the tournament later Wednesday.
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