Bianca Andreescu snapped a 5-match losing streak with a 3-set victory over Dalma Galfi in the opening round of the Charleston Open. Notably, Andreescu failed to regain momentum and couldn’t win a tour-level match for eight months after her two-month injury layoff. Following the match, the Canadian reflected on the lessons she took from her comeback.
What Bianca Andreescu Learned During Her Injury Comeback
Andreescu’s last win came eight months ago, when she edged past Barbora Krejcikova in the opening round in Montreal. But that victory came at a cost, as an ankle injury sustained during the match ruled her out for two months. Since returning, she has struggled to regain momentum, suffering a string of early exits.
Since her return, results have remained hard to come by. She fell to Anna Bondar in Beijing, Viktorija Golubic in Osaka, Victoria Mboko in Tokyo, Galfi in Austin, and Kamilla Rakhimova in Indian Wells, extending a difficult run of form.
However, the Canadian put an end to her skid with a hard-fought opening-round victory over Galfi at the Credit One Charleston Open. Andreescu laid the foundation for her comeback through sharper serving, striking all 4 of her aces in a decisive second set.
She stayed calm at 4-3 and was rewarded when Galfi misfired a forehand into the net on break point. That moment proved pivotal, shifting the momentum decisively in favor of the former US Open champion.
Andreescu subsequently tightened her grip by dominating the closing stages by winning 4 of her opponent’s final 5 service games and dropping just 4 points on serve in the third set to seal a 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 win and book a second-round clash with fellow Grand Slam champion and 16th seed Sofia Kenin.
Returning to winning ways after a shocking injury layoff was never going to be straightforward for the Canadian, but her persistence ultimately carried her through. The period on the sidelines also offered a valuable perspective, something she reflected on in a conversation with Tennis Channel’s Steve Weissman.
“My patience has gotten tremendously better. Um, and I feel like sometimes I want to control everything, but I’ve learned, you know, to take a step back and surrender, as they say. Easier said and done, but you know, control the controllables and then, whatever happens, happens too at the end of the day because, we have a goal but a lot of the times we don’t know how we’re going to get there,” she said.
While setbacks disrupted her plans, they also brought unexpected growth, new connections, and perspective, helping her understand that the path to success is often uncertain but still meaningful.
“You know, we might have an injury for instance, like my injury last year opened my eyes so much and I met so many incredible people and if it wasn’t for that injury, I wouldn’t have met those people. So it’s just putting things into perspective,” she added.
It remains to be seen how Bianca Andreescu navigates the rest of her campaign at the ongoing Charleston Open. She next faces 16th seed Sofia Kenin, over whom she holds a 4-1 head-to-head edge, although this will be their first meeting on clay.
