Bianca Andreescu Pulls Out Italian Open Citing 'Continuing Illness'

Bianca Andreescu pulls out of Italian Open: Canadian tennis star Bianca Andreescu on Thursday announced withdrawal from next week's event in Parma, Italy, over "continuing illness'' due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, tennis aces Serena and Venus Williams have accepted wild-card berths in the WTA 250 event, WTA announced on Thursday.

World No. 7 Andreescu was prepping to return to action at the Italian Open after retiring from the final of the Miami Open with a foot injury last month. She was then diagnosed with COVID-19 after arriving in Spain and missed out on last week's Madrid Open. The former US Open champion had to pull out of the WTA Rome tournament over COVID-19 rules in Italy, citing the country's health and safety protocols as a reason.

Having tested negative recently, Andreescu said in an Instagram post before the Italian Open began that she followed the isolation protocols in Madrid but the Italian government had told her to be isolated again if she travels to Italy,' Andreescu said in an Instagram post before the Italian Open began. She is said to have been back in full training the last few days, preparing for the upcoming tours.

The 20-year-old from Ontario, who won the US Open title in 2019, reached the final of the Miami Open last month before retiring in the final against top-ranked Australian Ashleigh Barty after suffering a foot injury. She was also forced to rest for 15 months after a knee injury and spent days on the sidelines in the early stages of the pandemic. She returned in February at the Australian Open 2021 and was hoping to be ready for the WTA tour's clay-court swing leading up to the French Open. She was the first Canadian ever to win the US Open in 2019.

Meanwhile, Serena Williams, playing the 1,000th Tour-level match of her career, defeated by Argentina's Nadia Podoroska in the Italian Open second round on Wednesday.

Feature Image Credit: CTV News