Mississauga tennis champ offers tips to kids as she preps for Wimbledon
Published June 27, 2022 at 5:04 pm
Mississauga’s Bianca Andreescu played a lot of tennis last week in Germany at a tournament that served as a tune-up for Wimbledon, being held this week in London.
And then she took the time to answer questions by video from young members of the Ontario Racquet Club in Mississauga, where Andreescu started her own training more than a decade ago.
The 22-year-old Mississaugan, who at the Bad Homburg Open this past Saturday was looking for her first tournament win since bursting onto the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) scene with a victory at the US Open in 2019 over Serena Williams, fell in the tourney final to Caroline Garcia, of France.
Still, it was a positive that Andreescu reached the final. She had the opportunity to work on her game that much more in preparation for the prestigious Wimbledon tournament as she continues the long road back to what she hopes will be the upper echelons of the women’s tennis circuit.
“I’m very happy. It’s been a couple of rough years but, you know, I’m putting in the work and on to the next. I’m excited for Wimbledon,” Andreescu told reporters in Germany.
Following her showing in Germany last week, Andreescu rose in the WTA rankings from No. 64 to No. 56.
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She’ll take on American Emina Bektas at 12:30 p.m. (EST) on Tuesday in a first-round Wimbledon match.
Andreescu’s performance last week in Germany represents a huge step forward on her journey to once again being considered among the world’s top tennis players.
The Mississauga tennis star, once ranked as high as No. 4 in the world after winning the US Open in 2019, continues to make her way back from a lengthy injury/mental health break on the WTA circuit.
She burst onto the world tennis scene with that surprise US Open win and told media last month at the Italian Open that the past few years have been tough for her, but she’s slowly “getting to my top form” again.
In answering questions from the young tennis students in Mississauga, which she did by video via CBC Sports, Andreescu told one of the youngsters that listening to music before matches and meditation help her find the right mindset to perform on the court.
The Mississauga athlete confided to one of the children that she’s had to learn how to control her nerves over the years because, as a young player herself, she used to get very frustrated.
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