MELBOURNE, Australia—Bianca Andreescu traces the path that brought her back to the tennis tour after a mental health break—and, on Monday, put her back in the win column thanks to beating a seeded opponent at the Australian Open—to what she calls “an ‘Aha’ moment” on a beach in Costa Rica during a spiritual retreat nearly a year ago.
Here, then, is how the 22-year-old Canadian described that epiphany in an interview with The Associated Press at Melbourne Park: “I am meant to play the sport and use it as a platform to be an inspiration for others.”
Andreescu, who beat Serena Williams in the 2019 U.S. Open final as a teenager, went through a series of health issues, including catching COVID-19, that derailed her career in 2020 and slowed her in 2021, too. She also split from her long-time coach. All in all, there was a lot going on—after beating No. 25 seed Marie Bouzkova 6–2, 6–4 at Court 3 on Monday, Andreescu used the word “hectic” to describe that period—and she went six months without playing a match from October 2021 to April 2022, including sitting out last year’s Australian Open….