Bianca Andreescu, the Canadian woman who made history by winning the 2019 U.S. Open in her first attempt, announced yesterday that she will not play in this year's tournament. She joins defending Men's champion Rafa Nadal in not entering the tournament because of COVID19 concerns.
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Photo Credit: KeithAllisonPhoto.com
"After many discussions with those closest to me, I have made the difficult decision not to return to New York this year," Andreescu said in a social media post. "I have taken this step in order to focus on my match fitness and ensure that I return ready to play at my highest level."
Andreescu has been injured and unable to practice sufficiently or play on the Women's tour since last October. She joins World #1 Ash Barty, #5 Elina Svitolina, and #7 Kiki Bertens on the sidelines, as well as other notables such as Svetlana Kuznetsova and Fiona Ferro, who recently won the first tournament played since the re-opening in Palermo, Italy.
The withdrawals open up opportunities for both Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic to add to their collection of U.S. Open titles. Djokovic is the lone remaining member of Men's tennis' Big 3 with the earlier withdrawal of Nadal and the absence of Roger Federer, who is out following knee surgery.
Addiitonally, former champion Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, and Gael Monfils have also withdrawn.
Questions still remain as to whether the tournament will still proceed as scheduled. The first matches are set to begin on August 31.
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