2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu left the court in a wheelchair due to a leg injury in the second set of her Miami Open match against Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday night.
Andreescu was trailing in the match when she fell to the court as she moved across the baseline, clutching her lower left leg and screaming. A short time later, she was wheeled off the court to a standing ovation.
“I’ve never felt this kind of pain before,” the Canadian said as medical staff arrived to treat her.
Mortifying scenes in Miami as Bianca Andreescu falls and hurts herself.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) March 28, 2023
This audio is heartbreaking to listen to.
“I’ve never felt this kind of pain before.”
Bianca does not deserve this again.
💔 pic.twitter.com/r7ZnJTUi6P
Andreescu had dropped the first set 7-6 and was mounting a comeback, winning the first two games of the second set when she was forced to retire. The 22-year-old has had a brutal run of injuries since capturing her first grand slam in 2019. On Sunday she told the Daily Telegraph that she had considered retiring.
“That was, honestly, about me wanting to figure out if I really wanted to continue playing tennis,” Andreescu said. “I was literally about to drop my rackets and say, ‘Screw this.’ I wasn’t happy at all and I wasn’t happy basically for the full year of 2021. I thought, if I continue like this, it’s just going to get worse.”
However, she had been returning to form recently. She had reached the last 16 in Miami after beating two former grand slam champions, Emma Raducanu and Sofia Kenin, as well as No 7 seed Maria Sakkari.
