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Bianca Andreescu, who has not played any competitive tennis this season, has decided to get into the groove by training on the clay courts of the Rafa Nadal Academy.
Incidentally, this isn't the first time that Andreescu has trained at Nadal's academy. She did so in 2019 as well to prepare for the clay tournaments after a break. Back in 2019, she was all praise for the academy and also went on to mention that Spain was her favorite country.
The likes of Naomi Osaka, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Casper Ruud have honed their skills within the precincts of the prestigious academy.
Bianca Andreescu, who missed the Australian Open this year, is currently training with a view to making a comeback.
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The 2019 US Open champion is currently slated to make her return to the Stuttgart Open as an alternate. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen, but the Canadian is not slated to participate in any other spring season clay court tournaments as of now.
Back in 2016, Romanian-born Bianca Andreescu was the top seed amongst the juniors at the Australian Open but was forced to withdraw following injury and also missed a large chunk of the ITF event as well.
Bianca Andreescu looking to emulate her performance from 2019
Plagued by injury on multiple occasions, the Canadian created history by winning the 2019 Indian Wells Open after receiving a wild card entry. Andreescu, then aged 18, also became the youngest winner at Indian Wells since Serena Williams, who triumphed when she was 17 back in 1999.
She also triumphed later in the year with a victory over Serena Williams for her maiden Slam at the 2019 US Open.
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"I'm really looking forward to what I can do at the French Open. Clay is one of my favorite surfaces and I'm really excited to go back and compete at one of my favorite Slams. The courts are incredible and people are very nice at Rafa Academy, the food is good and Spain is my favorite country. I have been to Barcelona and Madrid before and now I'm at Mallorca, I like it a lot," Bianca Andreescu said.
While Andreescu may find the going tough as she aims for yet another return, the impact she created as an 18-year-old is proof enough that another grand comeback is very much on the cards.
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