'19 US Open champ Andreescu 'ready to go' at Australian Open

Bianca Andreescu pronounced herself healthy Friday and “ready to go” for the Australian Open, which would be her first tournament in 15 months.

The 2019 U.S. Open champion had pulled out of one of the half-dozen tuneup tournaments taking place this week at Melbourne Park, where the year’s first Grand Slam tournament is scheduled to start Monday.

She said the “main reason” for that withdrawal was worrying that she wasn’t properly prepared for competition after having two weeks of hard quarantine after arriving in Australia. She wasn’t allowed to leave her hotel room during that time because she potentially could have been exposed to COVID-19 by her coach, Sylvain Bruneau, who tested positive.

“I’ve prepared in the best way that I could,” Andreescu said, noting that Bruneau now is able to work with her. “I had a good five-month preseason, I would say. Yeah, at this point, I’m just super grateful to be back, healthy. And, yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.”

The 20-year-old Canadian, who is ranked No. 8, won her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open in September 2019. The next month, she stopped playing during a match because of an injured left knee and she has not played an official contest since.

Andreescu said Friday the injury was a torn meniscus in that knee.

Image credits: AP