Canadian Tennis player Bianca Andreescu joins an elite list of players as she withdraws from the Tokyo Olympics set to kickstart this month
The upcoming Olympics event in Tokyo is set to have plenty of big names missing from the world of Tennis. Joining the long list of players is Bianca Andreescu, who announced her move to skip the global event. Bianca Andreescu has decided to give the Olympics a pass due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier, the likes of Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Nick Kyrgios, Dominic Thiem, Simona Halep and Stan Wawrinka also withdrew. Before Bianca Andreescu, Nick Kyrgios pulled out of the event, too, because of the lack of crowd.
Furthermore, Denis Shapovalov, who reached the Wimbledon 2021 semi-finals withdrew from the Olympics, starting from the 23rd of July. Meanwhile, Andreescu took to her official Instagram handle and released a statement on the same.
I have made the very difficult decision to not play: Bianca Andreescu as she withdraws
Bianca Andreescu remarked that the decision to skip the Olympics in Tokyo has been a difficult one. The challenges of the pandemic have stopped her from fulfilling the lifelong dream of representing Canada. The 21-year old hopes to do it in the Fed Cup and the Olympics event in Paris in 2024.
The Canadian, who tested positive for COVID-19 in April 2021, has not enjoyed an eventful year in the grand slams this year. Her campaign in the French Open and Wimbledon ended in the first round.
On the other hand, Bianca could travel only as far as the second round in the Australian Open. The world number five last competed in Wimbledon 2021 and her run ended in the opening round. France’s Alize Cornet won in straight sets to inflict a heavy defeat.
Bianca Andreescu’s most significant achievement so far is winning the US Open in 2019
The 21-year old’s best run in the grand slam events arrived in the 2019 US Open when she bagged the title. Andreescu defeated legendary Tennis star Serena Willams in straight sets to do so.
Bianca Andreescu, in the process, also became the first Canadian Grand Slam Singles champion. Following that, Andreescu sustained a series of injuries, beginning with a knee problem in the 2019 WTA Finals in Shenzhen.