Bianca Andreescu has admitted she feels inspired by Iga Swiatek's achievements and wants to surpass the Pole's Grand Slam tally.
Over three years have passed since Andreescu stunned tennis fans worldwide by winning the 2019 US Open as a 19-year-old. Despite not possessing overwhelming power, the Canadian's defense and craftiness made that achievement possible.
However, Andreescu has endured some struggles since that historic moment. She found it challenging to cope with the physical demands of the WTA Tour as a young player and endured injuries and burnout.
After being away from tennis for six months from October 2021 until April 2022, Andreescu returned during the clay court season before having a run to the final of the Bad Homburg Open on grass in June.
Although her results throughout the rest of 2022 were mixed, Andreescu is not downbeat. Watching what 21-year-old Swiatek achieved last year inspires and encourages her.
Swiatek was named the 2022 WTA Player of the Year after an exceptional season that included winning two Grand Slams and four WTA 1000 titles and finishing as the year-end No. 1 for the first time.
Andreescu remembers players saying she inspired them in 2019, and Swiatek is now doing the same for her. The Canadian then outlined her ambitions for the 2024 season if she can stay healthy.
"The competition definitely inspires me and motivates me even more. Seeing Iga, she’s younger than me and has three Grand Slams. I’m trying to get up there, I’m trying to beat that. But in like a friendly way. Because it’s like, and I actually heard this from a few players, where I kind of inspired them in 2019. So now it’s like the roles are reversed, which I really like."
"Another Grand Slam would be nice, another 1000, staying healthy, playing the whole year basically. Because I don’t think I’ve had like a full, full year of playing all the tournaments I wanted to. I think that should be number one right now. And then cracking the Top 10 again because I do believe that I’m at that level."