Injuries the biggest opponent for Canada’s junior tennis star

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA—Bianca Andreescu is the No. 1 seed in this year’s Australian Open junior girls’ event, one of the youngest in the draw.

Actually, make that Bianca Vanessa Andreescu, because the 15-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., prefers having her middle name included, a name her parents liked and was inspired by the actress/singer/former Miss America Vanessa Williams.

That still puts her four characters behind fellow Canadian and doubles partner Charlotte Robillard-Millette, but the tournaments are going to have to find a way to expand the scoreboards if she keeps up her rate of improvement.

The only concerns, in these early stages, are physical. But they are not insignificant.

Andreescu is growing. She has been dealing on and off with a left adductor issue, a right ankle issue and, this week, a stress fracture in her foot. The adductor came, and went, returned again, improved, and returned last week at a warm-up event. She was forced to withdraw from both singles and doubles there.

“It’s better that it’s happening now, than later,” she said Monday. “It depends what kind of pain it is, if it’s a two out of 10, I can play.”

By Wednesday in Melbourne, with third-round matches scheduled in both singles and doubles (she was the No. 1 seed with Robillard-Millette), the Andreescu pain rating had clearly risen. She withdrew from the tournament, defaulting both matches.

Andreescu was to be one of the four players on the Canadian team for the Fed Cup against Belarus in Quebec City Feb. 6-7. So that participation may have factored in, or it may be in jeopardy.

Barely eight months ago, still 14, Andreescu made her debut at the junior Grand Slam level at the French Open, where she lost to a more experienced Russian after winning the first set, then having to wait through a three-hour rain delay before she could come back and finish the job. She couldn’t.

Fast-forward six months to December, and Andreescu reached the final of the prestigious Orange Bowl tournament in Miami. It was a match that began at 10 a.m., persevered through at least five rain delays, and ended around 6 p.m. with Andreescu the champion.

She is now the No. 4 junior girl in the International Tennis Federation rankings, and she has big goals for 2016.

“I want to try to do even better than I did in 2015. I would like to win a junior Grand Slam, to reach No. 1 in the (junior) rankings, and the top 250 on the WTA Tour,” Andreescu said.

Clearly Tennis Canada understands what a prospect they have on their hands. Unlike most of the other top juniors, they didn’t insist that Andreescu leave her Mississauga home to relocate to Montreal and train with their coaches at the national centre.

“They did ask, but we managed to bring (coach André Labelle) to Toronto so I could train with him,” Andreescu said. “I can stay at home. It’s perfect, and I’m with my parents.”

They also assigned Frenchwoman Nathalie Tauziat to the Andreescu beat.

Tauziat, a former world No. 3 and a long-time tour player with a Wimbledon final on her resume, worked with Genie Bouchard and was instrumental in her run to the 2012 junior Wimbledon title. She also worked with former top Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak before her shoaulder surgery.

“I’m so lucky; she’s amazing,” Andreescu said. “Before, I wasn’t taking the ball as early and once (Tauziat) saw me, she told me right away I have to do that. And once I started, I started winning more matches and playing better, playing the game I want to play.”

The key, at the moment, is to get the balance right, to keep her on the court.

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