Serious ankle injury doesn’t keep Mississauga tennis star from returning to court

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Published May 2, 2023 at 5:05 pm

Mississauga's Bianca Andreescu returned to tennis action earlier than expected after a devastating ankle injury in late March. (Photo: Mauricio Paiz via Tennis Canada Twitter)

Although Bianca Andreescu lost to her opponent on the tennis court last Friday (April 28) at the Madrid Open in Spain, she believes she won a bigger battle by just being there to compete in the first place.

The 22-year-old Mississauga native was returning to action much sooner than many, including herself, expected after she tore two ligaments in her ankle during a March 27 match against Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Miami Open.

The injury immediately sent Andreescu to the court screaming in pain. To watch her moments later exit the court in Miami in a wheelchair was to think you wouldn’t be seeing her in action again for quite some time.

“I’ve never felt this kind of pain before,” Andreescu screamed as she lay on the court.

Fast-forward some five weeks and despite her loss to China’s Xiyu Wang, 22, in Madrid, the Canadian said via Twitter that it’s a “blessing” to be back competing so soon on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) circuit.

Andreescu, ranked No. 27 in WTA action, fell 6-3, 6-7, 2-6 to Wang, the WTA’s No. 65.

Next up for Andreescu is a return to Rome for the Italian Open, which begins May 8.

The ankle injury suffered during fourth-round action at the Miami Open did, at least temporarily, put the brakes on Andreescu’s journey back to what she hopes will be a place once again among the women’s tennis elite.

She had been showing recent signs of getting back into the top form that earned her a shocking U.S. Open win in 2019. She had climbed to No. 31 in WTA singles rankings prior to the Miami tournament, and now sits at No. 27.

Both those rankings are Andreescu’s highest since returning to the game after a lengthy layoff in which she didn’t compete at all in 2021.

Andreescu looked strong in early-round action in Miami, culminated by her third-round victory over American Sofia Kenin, a former Grand Slam champ, in straight sets (6-4, 6-4).

The Mississauga tennis star fired seven aces in the win.

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