Bianca Andreescu to skip Australian Open, take break from tennis

Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Bianca Andreescu will skip the 2022 Australian Open and take a mental and physical break from tennis, she announced on social media.

Andreescu announced her hiatus Monday on Instagram and Twitter. She still plans to participate in the 2022 WTA season, but did not say when she will return.

"As you all know, the past two years have been very challenging for me for a variety of reasons," Andreescu wrote in the posts.

"Especially this year in particular, I spent multiple weeks in isolation quarantining which affected me greatly -- both mentally and physically."

Andreescu, who dealt with several injuries over the past few seasons, also said her grandmother spent several weeks in an intensive care unit due to a COVID-19 infection. She said that situation "really hit [her] hard."

"A lot of days, I did not feel like myself, especially while I was training and/or playing matches," Andreescu wrote. "I felt like I was carrying the world on my shoulders.

"I could not detach myself from everything that was going on off the court; was feeling the collective sadness and turmoil around and it took its toll on me."

Andreescu, 21, last appeared in October at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. The 2019 U.S. Open champion appeared in all four Grand Slam tournaments this year, but missed every major tournament in 2020.

She also withdrew from the postponed 2020 Summer Games in July due to concerns about COVID-19.

"I want to give myself extra time to reset, recover, and grow from this and continue to inspire by doing charity work, giving back and working on myself because I know by doing this, I will come back stronger than ever," Andreescu wrote.

"I will therefore not start my season in Australia this year, but will take some additional time to reflect, train, and be ready for the upcoming 2022 tennis season."

Andreescu is the No. 46 player in the WTA singles rankings. She ranked as high as No. 5 this summer and No. 4 in 2020 and 2019.

The 2022 Australian Open is scheduled for Jan. 17 through 30 in Melbourne.