Bibi Grows Up.
Bianca Andreescu — Bibi to family and friends — laughs when it’s suggested that should be the sequel to her autobiographical picture book, a whimsical illustrated hardcover that hit the shelves this week, starring the Mississauga-born tennis headliner and an impossibly cute toy poodle.
In we learn that Little Bianca was a whirling dervish child who daily practised turning cartwheels, running backwards and attempting to set a world record for balancing a spoon on her nose.
A kid whose parents, keen to find an energy outlet for their rambunctious daughter, pointed her toward a vast assortment of sports and performing arts. None of it felt quite right until Andreescu got hold of a racket, seizing upon Kim Clijsters as an athletic role model.
Clijsters won three of her Grand Slam titles at the U.S. Open. Andreescu copped her first — and thus far sole — at the 2019 U.S. Open, stunningly knocking off Serena Williams in the final.
That breakthrough dream season featured triumphs at Indian Wells, the Miami Open and the Rogers Cup in ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½, vaulting the teenager to a career-high No. 4 world ranking by year’s end.
Andreescu has done a whole lot of growing up since then, in fact.

Much of that personal ripening she attributes to a step-back from competition, the grind of the World Tennis Association tour and the four glamorama majors, for a six-month sabbatical until her re-energized re-emergence at Stuttgart in April. A protracted absence — following an enforced absence of more than a year, due to a torn meniscus in her left knee and the whole COVID disruption on all sports — during which, Andreescu has admitted, she actually considered quitting tennis.
“I’d gone through so much chaos that it had become difficult to really listen to myself and enjoy my sport,†Andreescu recounts to the Star in a Zoom interview from Germany, on her way to Berlin for the bett1open, starting Saturday. “I thought that I was dealing with it in the best way that I could, but I ended up finding out that I had to go through that moment to really know how to truly deal with things, how to truly deal with adversity. I felt that if I continued, I wouldn’t be able really find that.â€
She’d been pondering such a drastic mental health intermission for at least three months: “The seeds had been planted even earlier. In 2020 I didn’t play anything. Then it was all an accumulation. When I got to Australia (for the 2021 Open) my coach tested positive. I did a two-week quarantine and then I tested positive myself for COVID, before the clay season. Then my grandmother caught COVID and that was terrible.â€
Initially, Andreescu considered taking a fortnight off … taking a month off … then concluded she’d needed more uncramped space than that, as friends urged her to go all-in with checking out.
She spent a month touring Europe, like any other sightseer: “Just exploring without a tennis bag, which was awesome.†Unplugged totally from social media. “I wanted to completely get my head away from everything. I told everyone around me: Don’t tell me what’s happening.†Which included tennis news. “Because I wanted to just be in this complete bubble where I had no distractions, no influence from anyone.â€
She travelled to the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, lured in particular to spiritual retreats among “like-minded individuals.â€
“I went to a beautiful retreat in Costa Rica where I did a bunch of yoga, meditation, qigong (an ancient Chinese discipline that combines body posture, movement and breathing). We got to the core of a lot of things, bonding with everybody there because people were sharing their stories.†Mostly anonymous, without the burden of her celebrity, until she got outed by some Canadian participants who recognized her.
It all sounds very New Age-y. But Andreescu has been practising meditation and visualization from a young age, introduced to it by her mother, Maria. She’s become a solid believer: “At first, it’s not the easiest thing or most enjoyable thing to do. But once you get the patience for it and you see the results — that’s how I ended up loving it.â€
Meditation, especially, has grounded her, even if only five minutes of concentrated breathing exercises upon awakening and 20 minutes — never longer — at bedtime. Being still within herself, amidst endlessly busy days. An associated thought process is deeply considering the food that’s put in front of her, where it came from, how it got from farm to table: “I thank everybody who made the food or brought it to me.â€
Well, it works for her. And that effort at concentration, fused with her disengaging, crystalized what was most meaningful to Andreescu, kindling anew her passion for tennis.
“One hundred per cent. Being away from the sport made me realize that I truly loved it. And working on myself more than I ever have was superimportant in that process, because I learned how to love myself in a better way. I felt that I was basing my self worth at times on my results and when I wouldn’t have that, it wasn’t good. But now that I have that basis, I have the time to process this is how it’s going to be, this is how I want to run my life. It’s really changed a lot. I’m just enjoying everything, really enjoying the process, all the hours in the gym and I’m supercommitted.â€
After resurfacing in Stuttgart, Andreescu looked around and saw an altered tennis landscape. No Serena, for one thing, and it might be that both Williams sisters won’t ever grace a competitive court again, though neither has announced her retirement. Ash Barty had called it a day too, catching everybody off-guard, while other female players, younger, were surging.
“Women gaining the quarterfinals, semifinals, people that sometimes you think will never get there and then do. Which I actually love because it gives a great variety to the sport. The competition is super-high. Even before I stopped it was very high. I feel like it does get more difficult by the month, to be honest.
“And when I came back, Iga was killing everything!â€
As in Iga Swiatek, the 21-year-old Pole who just won the French Open, her second major, amidst a 35-match win streak, utterly captivating the tennis world. Andreescu was knocked out in the second round in Paris, by No. 14 seed Belinda Bencic.
“I went a little bit back into my old ways,†says Andreescu, who’ll be seeing plenty of seeded opponents because of her depressed ranking (No. 70) due to inactivity. “In a way it was expected, like the universe testing me a little bit. Mainly testing my patience and adversity. To be honest, I felt a little too overconfident.â€
She expects to find the proper balance, internally and externally. So, onwards to Wimbledon with a couple of grass surface tournaments in between, scarcely time to catch her breath.
“I’ve been told in order to be great, you have to do great things. That includes sacrifices, and I’ve sacrificed a lot. But in my heart, I really know now that I want to do this, so making those sacrifices is much easier than it was before.
“I know that if I continue just pushing and enjoying every minute and having the right mindset, even during setbacks, I’m going to do great things. And it will all be worth it.â€
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