Bianca Andreescu had a bone to pick with the Canadian broadcasters showing Wimbledon after viewers from her country could not watch most of her opening-round victory at SW19.
Andreescu was utterly dominant in her triumph in London. She defeated Emina Bektas 6-1, 6-3 on Court 14 with an excellent performance, barely putting a foot wrong throughout the short contest.
TSN (English-speaking) and RDS (French-speaking) are covering Wimbledon in Canada. Many assumed that watching a local player who is a former Grand Slam champion from the start to the end of her match is a luxury Canadian fans would have.
Surprisingly, this was the case. Some of Andreescu's fans informed her on Twitter they could not watch most of her match, with other players the broadcasters might deem to be more high-profile being prioritized.
After that decision, the 2019 US Open champion did not hide her disdain for the broadcasters. She said it made her sad and pointedly mentioned this would not be an issue for male Canadian players Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
"Sad to see Canadian fans tweeting about not being able to watch most of my first round match at Wimbledon… on TV or the app…. no problem for Denis or Felix tho."
Andreescu's frustration is entirely understandable. Although Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov are great players in their own right, they are not Grand Slam champions like Andreescu. Therefore, not being given the same respect as them does not seem right.
Hopefully, Andreescu's fans in her home country will not face the same issue in the next round. She will face Elena Rybakina, who has a dangerous game on grass, which should lead to a fun match.
Admittedly, there are many great women's matches to choose from each day at Wimbledon. However, Andreescu is right about deserving respect from her local broadcasters.
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