By Chris Oddo | @Thefanchild | Sunday 11 May 2025
it’s Bianca Andreescu Back? Yes it would be the best answer to this question. Even better: she never left.
Whatever the case, Canadian is returning to shape after returning to the tour last month in Rouen, France, where she played her first tennis in six months. Andreescu, who lost her time for personal reasons and later an urgent appendectomy, lost three of her first four matches, but she hit the dirt running to Rome, returning the back-back victories against top-20 players for the first time since 2022.
Tuesday in Rome when she faces the eighth seed Zheng Qinwen Andreescu of China will try to make it three consecutive wins against the 20 best in the same event since she won her girls’ title Grand Slam as a teenager in 2019.
A victory would also postpone Andreescu, who is playing Rome in a protected ranking, again in the top 100 for the first time since August 2023.
Is Andreescu, now 24 years old, feeling the pressure? Far from it.
Bianca Andreescuis a victory away from returning to the top 100 after disturbing former champion Elena Rybakina in Rome.
“I don’t think I’ve ever changed the pace as much as I did today.”https://t.co/jttf9shtsh
– Tenis (@tennis) May 11, 2025
“I was out for some time but had a better mentality going to that rest than maybe three years ago,” Andreescu said David Kane i Tennis.com. “I am learning more about myself, which I think is very important and what life is. Sometimes I can take a lot in my head with these things, and I can feel that time is against me, but I must understand that I am still 24.
“I just have to be patient because I can still be 10 years in the tournament if I want. So I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself.”
It is great to hear Andreescu, who has dealt with a host of damage since its breakout season in 2019, taking the long look and focusing on mental and physical health.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmrrzlqd_qa
Sunday’s win over the 11th rankings Elena RybakinaJust two weeks after falling to Kazaktan in straight groups in Madrid, it was a true eye opening and evidence that it is getting better in a quick clip. It also brought out the world no.19 Donna Vekic in the second round. In the 16th round, she will face Zheng for the second time, after falling to the Chinese in three groups in Toronto in 2022.
Andreescu, who switched to a new 98-year-old re-Yonex missile, is also working with a new coach (she rehabilitated coach Antonio Fernandez Cantisano) and including a strict gluten-free diet.
Perhaps these changes will lead to more consistency in court for the former world no.4.
