Just two days before the Western & Southern Open was scheduled to begin, Bianca Andreescu withdrew from the tournament, citing a change in her schedule.
She was supposed to take on World No. 29 Camila Giorgi of Italy in the first round on Monday. The WTA announced that the 53rd-ranked Canadian will now be replaced either by a qualifier or a lucky loser. Andreescu's late withdrawal proved to be unfortunate for Daria Saville of Australia, who narrowly missed out on playing in the main draw of the WTA 1000 event.
Reacting to the news, the upset 28-year-old Australian took to social media to say that such things happen all the time.
"I am not even salty… but yea happens all the time," Saville tweeted.
In a separate tweet on the same thread, World No. 73 Saville explained that had Andreescu withdrawn before the start of the qualifying matches, the Aussie would have been her replacement in the main draw.
"If anyone form main draw pulls out before qualifying matches start then players from the alternate list get in. Matches started today at 10 so had to be just before then. And I was first alternate," Saville explained.
However, soon after these two tweets, Saville informed her fans about her participation at the W60 Bronx, NY Tournament 2022, an ITF event to be held from August 15-21 in New York City.
"It’s ok. I’m playing in the Bronx babyyyyy," Saville said.
Bianca Andreescu lost in the Canadian Open 3R
Bianca Andreescu has won three WTA titles in her career, all of which are big trophies. Apart from the 2019 Indian Wells Open and the 2019 Canadian Open, the 22-year-old stunned 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the summit clash of the 2019 US Open.
Looking for her second WTA 1000 title in Canada, Andreescu kicked off her campaign with a straight-sets win over Russia's Daria Kasatkina. She followed it up with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory against Alize Cornet of France. However, the Canadian was stopped in the third round by 19-year-old Qinwen Zheng of China, who beat her 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 in an exciting contest.
The youngster has not been able to add to her trophy cabinet since her lone Grand Slam title in 2019. She has often struggled with injuries and mental health issues. At the 2022 French Open, Andreescu was ousted by Switzerland's Belinda Bencic in the second round. She faced a similar result at Wimbledon, losing to eventual winner Elena Rybakina.