Bianca Andreescu is aiming to be fully fit by the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome after losing in the opening round in Madrid.
The Canadian returned to action for the first time since tearing two ligaments at the Miami Open.
Andreescu’s return showed promising signs but ultimately the Canadian lost to Xiyu Wang 3-6 7-6(5) 6-2.
However the former US Open champion saw her opening match as a triumph as she was able to do what she loves, “I worked really hard during my rehab because I wanted to get back on court as soon as possible,” Andreescu told the WTA website.
“I’ve been through the process so I knew what to expect. My progress was pretty up and down. But the last week I would say I made the biggest progress.
“Honestly, until two days ago I didn’t feel as confident. So it was super, super soon. It was really great to test my ankle in a match like this. It was almost three hours.
“I knew I could have had it, especially in the second set. “I think she played great tennis. She was serving very well. I feel like my serve went down a bit. But it’s great to be back on court nonetheless. I didn’t know if I was going to play the tournament. I was just super happy to be on court.”
Andreescu knows that she’s taken positive steps in Madrid as she looks to be fully healthy by Rome.
The Canadian admitted that most of the challenges occurred mentally especially with the movement after such a terrible injury, “I worked a lot mentally to try and get rid of the fear and the PTSD of the incident because it was very very painful,” Andreescu admitted.
“Coming on clay, with the sliding, it could be pretty scary. But I think I’m in the right direction. I’m definitely not 100 percent. I would say I’m 90 percent right now, but 90 percent confident too, to go out there and push.
“Today was a great test, so hopefully in a week I can be 100 percent for Rome.”
The tournament in Rome starts on the 9th of May.
