HONG KONG (Reuters) – U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu will have a scan on her injured left knee before deciding whether she will continue at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen following her retirement from her match against Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday.
Tennis – WTA Tour Finals – Shenzhen Bay Sports Center – Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China – October 30, 2019 Canada’s Bianca Andreescu waves after retiring injured from her match against Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova REUTERS/Aly Song
The 19-year-old sustained the injury in the third game of her second round-robin meeting and, although she continued to the end of the set with her knee heavily strapped, she retired after sustaining a 6-3 loss.
“I stepped weirdly on a return,” said Andreescu, who lost her opening game against Simona Halep on Monday.
“I heard my knee crack. It kind of went inwards. Putting pressure afterwards on it really bothered me. I could barely bend my knee.
“But I fought with the pain as much as I could. At some point an athlete has to say ‘stop’ and just listen to their body. That’s what I did.”
Andreescu took an injury time out that lasted more than eight minutes before returning to action, having won the first two games and looking in good form.
The injury, though, curtailed her movement and she decided to retire after Pliskova sealed the first set with an ace.
“Honestly, I really didn’t know what to do,” she said.
“I’ve fought through pain before, but this was different. It was very acute. But it’s the last tournament of the year. I just told myself, Push it as much as you can. You’re going to have a good break after this.
“Maybe I could have pushed it more. I don’t know. My team said no. It was good that I stopped. Honestly, I could have kept going. If I did, then I would just be whining on the court. I don’t want that. I’ve done that enough.”
The Canadian right hander has had an impressive 2019 season, winning at Indian Wells and Toronto before capturing the U.S. Open title at Flushing Meadows with a straight sets win over Serena Williams in the final.
That form saw her climb to fourth in the world rankings, earning her a berth at the WTA Finals for the first time.
“It’s been amazing,” Andreescu said of her best season since joining the senior ranks in 2017. “I really can’t complain.
“I made history in Canada. I won my first slam. My game just keeps getting better and better.
“The thing with me, though, is that I’m never satisfied. Even looking back at that, I still want to do well right now.
“But I have to look at the positives. Hopefully I can recover quick after this. Who knows if I can play. We’ll see. If not, then I’m going to have a good pre-season, good off-season, be ready for 2020.”
Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Christian Radnedge
