Bianca Andreescu was forced to retire with a left knee injury while losing 6-3 to Karolina Pliskova at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen as injuries continue to define the young Canadian’s career.
Andreescu had arrived for her second match of the tournament with all eyes on her back after she struggled towards the end of her three-set defeat by Simona Halep on Monday. Instead, she was covering the court fluidly until she twisted her knee while lunging for a wide forehand at 2-1 in the first set.
“My knee twisted, I heard a crack, [the physio] validated me that it’s my meniscus. I can’t bend my knee at all. It’s cracking every time I walk and it hurts,” Andreescu said to her coach, Sylvain Bruneau. As he implored her not to push her injury too far, she cried: “I don’t want to stop.”
She spent the following half-hour teeing off on her groundstrokes while desperately trying to move her immobile leg. At one point, she saved three break points to hold for 3-3 and then celebrated by barking loudly down the court towards a bemused Pliskova. She fought hard, but Pliskova eventually stepped inside the court and used her experience to put away her ailing opponent in the first set.
Naomi Osaka withdrew from the tournament with a right shoulder injury on Tuesday but the circumstances are more worrying for Andreescu. There are few doubts about the potency of her forehand, the fluidity of her movement and her tendency to enrage opponents with her variety but the 19-year-old’s injury list is growing.
This year, Andreescu contested only one match between March and August owing to a torn rotator cuff injury and many of her 48 victories in 2019 have included numerous physio visits and extended periods of physical ailments.
After losing to Andreescu at the Miami Open in March, the former world No 1 Angelique Kerber was incensed by her opponent’s numerous injury claims and infamously branded the youngster “the biggest drama queen ever”. The unfortunate irony is that Andreescu continues to prove Kerber wrong.
While Andreescu’s body crumbled again, Wednesday’s opening match was defined by Elina Svitolina’s physical prowess as she overcame Halep 7-5, 6-3 to move into the semi-final.
Indoor tennis is historically fast and favours the big hitters but the conditions in China are extremely slow. Svitolina has been happy to hit consistently deep groundstrokes, forcing opponents to hit through both the court and her supreme defence in order to win.
After Pliskova failed to put Svitolina away in their opening match, Halep spent this one frantically cycling through every last stroke in her arsenal, but she finished with 38 unforced errors and was unable to consistently dent the Ukrainian’s armour.
Svitolina has now qualified for the semi-finals, while the second spot in the Purple Group will be decided by the winner of Halep’s contest with Pliskova on Friday. Andreescu will decide whether to play again after an MRI scan.
