Back Pain Forces Bianca Andreescu Out Of Cincinnati Masters

Sunday, 13 August 2023 at 00:00

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byNurein Ahmed

Bianca Andreescu has confirmed she will play no part at next week's Cincinnati Masters after experiencing back pain since the start of the summer hard-court swing.

Andreescu was soundly beaten by Italy's Camila Giorgi in the first round of the Canadian Open this week, and later told reporters she had been dealing with back pain since the start of the Citi Open in Washington last week. While the situation got better, the pain was incessant.

Andreescu confirmed that the injury is SI joint pain, which radiates from the hips and the pelvis area up to the lower back. She explained that the injury is not too serious, pushing the body puts strenuous pressure on the back, and felt a lot more during her match against Giorgi than during practice.

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"Yeah, it's hard when I keep getting asked this question, like, if I'm healthy, what's going on. And in a way I am, but I'm not. Last week during my match in Washington, I experienced some back pain. Some SI joint pain, to be exact. I've had this before. I've had to deal with it many times, actually."

"Yeah, it got better for a few days, and then, you know, I started playing again, and then obviously I felt some irritation, but I saw some light at the end of the tunnel. But with SI joint pain, it's very difficult because it's nothing very serious, but if you do push, you do feel a lot of pain. That's what I experienced one of the days practicing before the tournament."

Andreescu won 62% of first-serve points, and that number dropped below 50% on second-serves. Giorgi created as many as eight break points and broke the Canadian three times. Asked why she struggled to counter the Italian's kick serve, she said her back was hurting.

Andreescu is now taking some days off and will speak to his team regarding the possible fitness work they'll put in place to get her body in full working order for the 2023 US Open which begins in a couple of weeks' time.