Can Bianca Andreescu Ever Get Back To Her 2019 Form?

[Lozo1016]

2019 Bianca Andreescu burst onto the scene by winning Indian Wells, Canada, and the US Open. She went 37-7 and finished #5 in the world at the age of 19. I really thought she had a great chance to establish herself as the player to beat in the following years. Unfortunately, she hasn't made much of an impact since then.

Since her stellar 2019 season, she has gone 52-40 and hasn't won a tournament of any kind. For whatever reason, her body just hasn't been able to hold up. It feels like she gets injured every few months. 2023 is the first season where she has been able to play a full schedule, but she hasn't done much of note on the singles side. Every now and then, we will get glimpses of the old Bibi like when she made the 2021 Miami final or made the 2023 RG final in mixed doubles. It makes me think that she's still capable of being one of the game's best, but she has been able to show that those moments are sustainable for her.

I have hope that we'll see Bianca reach her full potential and get back near the top of the women's game, but IDK if her body will allow her to do that. Unfortunately, this might be another example of injuries taking its toll on a player and robbing her (and us) of an incredible career.

 

[mental midget]

i thought she was the next thing for sure...was absolutely incredible in that run. we'll see...she's not too old yet.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

The tennis gods have truly punished Andreescu.

After the wildly successful 2019 she got the knee injury to finish the year at YEC. She then missed all of 2020. Returned in 2021 at the Aus Open and played that, Philip Island and then Miami where she got to the final only for this to happen. (Bianca retired 2 games later).

Injuries continued to plague her here and there, she missed the start of 2022 including the Aus Open, Indian Wells and Miami with injury. She returned to tour and got back into the groove of things into the top 30 only for this to happen in the 4R of Miami this year.

It's just been so cruel for her.

 

[Lleytonstation]

The tennis gods have truly punished Andreescu.

After the wildly successful 2019 she got the knee injury to finish the year at YEC. She then missed all of 2020. Returned in 2021 at the Aus Open and played that, Philip Island and then Miami where she got to the final only for this to happen. (Bianca retired 2 games later).

Injuries continued to plague her here and there, she missed the start of 2022 including the Aus Open, Indian Wells and Miami with injury. She returned to tour and got back into the groove of things into the top 30 only for this to happen in the 4R of Miami this year.

It's just been so cruel for her.

It is the curse of the maple syrup. We can't have good things. Just glimpses and memories.

 

[ihitlikeagirl]

I don't think so. She's too affected. She has her convoluted quirks and they get in the way of her "just playing"...that is why she was on a tear in 2019 IMO. I could be wrong but I don't see it more than occasionally when she gets hot for a tournament perhaps.

 

[TheNachoMan]

Raducanu/Andreescu/Gauff are like a more successful version of the LostGen.

 

[ND-13]

Raducanu/Andreescu/Gauff are like a more successful version of the LostGen.

I don't think the other 2 can be compared to Bibi.

Raducanu is a one slam wonder. Bibi has so much talent that if she has a season without injury, she can easily be top 5.

 

[WeekendTennisHack]

She was never in good shape. Too fat, of course you'll get injured all the time.

 

[Kralingen]

Some players just don’t particularly have the bodies for professional tennis. And I don’t mean her athleticism, she has very muscular legs and at least in 2019 was in excellent shape and an upper tier mover.

Some people just get hurt a lot. It can be any multitude of things. She unfortunately is one of those.

 

[Mark-Touch]

As a fellow Canadian, you'd think I'd be the first to cheer her on and say she'll be back to her 2019 form again.
But too much has changed in the past four years for her.
It's not only her injuries but just her decision to stop playing for 'Covid era'.
She lost a lot of precious time and you can't expect to resume your career as if nothing has happened.

I could be wrong, but I think her career has already peaked.
I watched some of her match today against Kostyuk and these were the notes I made at the time:

Tentative tier-two tennis from Bibi.
No one to blame but herself.

 

[MeatTornado]

Too fat, of course you'll get injured all the time.

Nonsense

 

[DSH]

Even if she doesn't win anything important between now and the end of her career, I will remember that she delivered the coup de grace to Serena Williams.

 

[Dan Lobb]

She led 4-2 in the third set against the losing finalist at Wimbledon, showing that grass is a good surface for her. She probably needs to concentrate on clay and grass and avoid hard rubber to lessen the damage to her legs and knees.

Is she back now? Yes, but I have concerns about hard rubber where she had so much injury trouble in the past.

 

[WeekendTennisHack]

Nonsense

I meant in real sports

 

[lelopez]

She was never in good shape. Too fat, of course you'll get injured all the time.

Nonsense. Her body type is not one that will ever look like Sakkari's, but Bianca is extremely fit. She is just injury prone and has had some bad luck, nothing to do with her bodyweight.

 

[basil J]

Nonsense. Her body type is not one that will ever look like Sakkari's, but Bianca is extremely fit. She is just injury prone and has had some bad luck, nothing to do with her bodyweight.

I believe her frame is not the best suited for a sport that requires a tremendous amount of lateral movement. I love watching her play, but literally every match I have seen her in, she tweaks something or calls out a trainer for an issue. I am sure she is fit but carries body weight that can probably leave her prone to injury. She needs to get really fit, and IMO, if she wants to improve, she needs to take a page from Jabeur and learn to how to move forward and close off the court better. She seems content to get into long baseline rallies and I don't think that's a great long term strategy with her injury history. She has good hands and volleys very well and has a good enough serve to come in behind during a match. 'I wish her well. She appears to be a very decent person.

 

[zvelf]

I believe her frame is not the best suited for a sport that requires a tremendous amount of lateral movement. I love watching her play, but literally every match I have seen her in, she tweaks something or calls out a trainer for an issue. I am sure she is fit but carries body weight that can probably leave her prone to injury. She needs to get really fit, and IMO, if she wants to improve, she needs to take a page from Jabeur and learn to how to move forward and close off the court better. She seems content to get into long baseline rallies and I don't think that's a great long term strategy with her injury history. She has good hands and volleys very well and has a good enough serve to come in behind during a match. 'I wish her well. She appears to be a very decent person.

I agree with everything you said except that she is content to get into long baseline rallies. In 2019, Andreescu was much better at choosing the right moment to hit winners. Now, she is not constructing points and instead rushing to hit a winner too early resulting in a lot of unforced errors. She has a lot of power but not a lot of control. In 2019, her versatility was off the charts with terrific touch, some volleying, and great drop shots. She should rely on that more and wait for the opportune time to hit a winner when her opponent is off-balance. Today, she is too impatient.

 

[zvelf]

Nonsense. Her body type is not one that will ever look like Sakkari's, but Bianca is extremely fit. She is just injury prone and has had some bad luck, nothing to do with her bodyweight.

Yep. If Watson and current-day Ostapenka can play without injury, it's not about body type. It's just Andreescu's body in particular that is injury prone.

 

[Airspun]

but she's got a little heart tattoo tho

 

[ronalditop]

I never miss a match of hers.

 

[Musterrific]

I think the answer is no, which is a shame because she's an exciting player and surprisingly versatile for the WTA. Four years of achieving very little though? There's no getting back to her peak form. She's been relatively injury free most of this season yet there is no indication in her game of any sort of incoming surge of momentum.

 

[ND-13]

I agree with everything you said except that she is content to get into long baseline rallies. In 2019, Andreescu was much better at choosing the right moment to hit winners. Now, she is not constructing points and instead rushing to hit a winner too early resulting in a lot of unforced errors. She has a lot of power but not a lot of control. In 2019, her versatility was off the charts with terrific touch, some volleying, and great drop shots. She should rely on that more and wait for the opportune time to hit a winner when her opponent is off-balance. Today, she is too impatient.

Bibi was a version like Alcaraz.. a very fresh approach then amongst the baseline bashers or counterattack players.

 

[ihitlikeagirl]

Yep. If Watson and current-day Ostapenka can play without injury, it's not about body type. It's just Andreescu's body in particular that is injury prone.

I agree...she actually turns her feet inward (like a version of what Hubi does and some other players--in fact, if I recall correctly feet turned inward and sort of a lazy split step were the reason she twisted her ankle and needed to be carted off in a wheelchair in a recent match of hers that I watched)...it's not optimal for body movement and lower body chain. She also has her quirks that are affected type repetitive movements and her returning stance--that may have made her seem or feel cool when she was a junior but add unnecessary physical stress on her body. It's not optimal the way she uses her body vs if she had a more balanced, even, unaffected stance & movement.

I sort of think she is a big girl but I don't think that specifically is what is holding her back in terms of continually causing injury.. It could be though. She sort of plays all out as well--it's her mindset so at times it's a little frantic rather than measured and deliberate. Definitely part of her success to play like that but also probably adds to the injury tally. I have mixed feelings on her but I do like that all out playing style because it's not boring. She's a bit cocky for my taste but idk suppose it comes with the territory.

 

[ChaelAZ]

To be frank, no.

 

[buscemi]

I think the answer is no, which is a shame because she's an exciting player and surprisingly versatile for the WTA. Four years of achieving very little though? There's no getting back to her peak form. She's been relatively injury free most of this season yet there is no indication in her game of any sort of incoming surge of momentum.

I actually thought she looked better at Wimbledon than she has in the past few years. Weird situation with the heckler in D.C., but I'm excited to see how she does in Canada and the rest of the summer on hard courts.

 

[Dan Lobb]

I actually thought she looked better at Wimbledon than she has in the past few years. Weird situation with the heckler in D.C., but I'm excited to see how she does in Canada and the rest of the summer on hard courts.

I thought that she finally looked good at this year's Wimbledon, leading the other finalist at 4-2 in the third set, that should normally be a win.

I find it hard to watch her play on hard rubber surfaces as that is where she has got her injuries to legs and knees. I think that she should just skip those surfaces.

 

[LaVie en Rose]

I like her style , combination of variety & power. Not sure if body can hold up (natural build, genetics )

 

[slipgrip93]

Since her major knee injury accident a few years ago, I'd always felt she needs to slim way down, become a different skinny frame of a player if she can. Because imo, I feel that can help her way more in balance and movement as she can't seem to manage and maneuver it away from injuries like Jabeur and Ostapenko do with their thicker bodies on court.

 

[LaVie en Rose]

I think the answer is no, which is a shame because she's an exciting player and surprisingly versatile for the WTA. Four years of achieving very little though? There's no getting back to her peak form. She's been relatively injury free most of this season yet there is no indication in her game of any sort of incoming surge of momentum.

She is still young , I would give her chance

 

[Lozo1016]

Bibi's confidence is still there.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1687870697593561088

 

[a10best]

Unfortunately, if she can't get back that year or season of great performance. You have to consider it an anomaly.
Radacanu
Ostapenko
Majoli

 

[buscemi]

And there it is:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1690527414495944704

 

[Sudacafan]

What do you mean by form?

 

[Arak]

We see it all the time with very talented players who can’t come back after a serious injury. Unfortunately she seems to be one of those cases.

 

[Wander]

I think she can recover to being a top 30 player or top 20 player. Winning another Major is unlikely.

 

[ronalditop]

I think her current form is quite excellent.

 

[No_Kwan_Do]

Nah, I think she's done as a top 10 mainstay.

She took a break from the sport and hasn't been the same since she came back. Gone is the intensity, force of will and drive, and it's been replaced with apathy. You see glimpses of the old Andreescu here and there in her matches, but she used to be intimidating to play against when she was at her best in 2019, and you don't get that vibe from her anymore.

Mentally, she's probably in a lot better place now, but she's missing something. The injuries don't help.