Canadian tennis star Bianca Andreescu has decided not to play at the Australian Open next month, saying she’d like more time to recover physically and mentally.
The 21-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., announced the decision on social media on Monday, noting that the many days of required quarantine for COVID-19 protocols and her grandmother’s COVID-19 health scare both took a huge toll.
“The past two years have been very challenging for me for a variety of reasons,” wrote the 2019 U.S. Open winner.
Andreescu said she spent “multiple weeks” in quarantine isolation, and her grandmother spent “several weeks” in the ICU fighting the virus, “something that really hit me hard.
“A lot of days, I did not feel like myself, especially while I was training and/or playing matches. I felt like I was carrying the world on my shoulders.”
Andreescu’s last tournament appearance was Indian Wells in October, where she was the defending champion but was eliminated in the third round by Anett Kontaveit of Estonia. The loss was her first in nine matches at Indian Wells.
“I want to give myself extra time to reset, recover and grow from this [as cliche as that sounds], 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,” she wrote.
Andreescu recently wrote a children’s book Bibi’s Got Game about tennis, meditation and perseverance, that set for publication May 31, 2022.
WATCH | Andreescu suffers 3rd-round loss at Indian Wells:
Bianca Andreescu falls in 3rd round at Indian Wells
2 months ago
Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., was unable to defend her title at Indian Wells as she dropped her 3rd round match to Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 7-6(5), 6-3. 3:20
Andreescu was 19 when she capped a breakthrough season by upsetting her idol, Serena Williams, in the U.S. Open final two years ago. Soon after, Andreescu rose to a career-best No. 4 in the WTA rankings.
But in October 2019, she tore the meniscus in her left knee and was gone from the tour for about 15 months.
Andreescu returned to action at this year’s Australian Open, where Williams offered this assessment: “She has a bright future. She’s really young; rather incredibly mature. I’ve always said I think her light burns brightly. She really has a great game to continue to win more Grand Slams.”
Andreescu won her opening match in Melbourne, then lost in the second round. She wound up going 4-4 in Grand Slam tournaments in 2021, including a fourth-round run at the U.S. Open and first-round exits at the French Open and Wimbledon.
That was part of an overall 17-12 mark on tour with no titles this season, leaving her ranking at No. 46 entering 2022.
She said in April she had tested positive for COVID-19. In June, she announced that she would no longer be coached by Sylvain Bruneau after four years together.
What Andreescu left unclear Monday was when she will be back on court.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
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