Bianca Andreescu gives Nike a dressing down at US Open before issuing apology
The tennis star says she has “no excuses” as she admits playing as she did was “wrong”.She joins former US Open champion Monica Seles and Serena Williams in admitting the issue was a “mistake” and accepts she will not be in line for a title in the next Grand Slam.
“It is definitely not the right way to play,” Andreescu told the media about her playing as she did at last month’s Open. “It’s something I regret for the rest of my life and I regret for the rest of the year.”
She added: “I should never do that because obviously I’ve had injuries and I’ve never had to play through those injuries. I’ve never had to play through those injuries but it was wrong and I didn’t realise until very recently what was happening.
“Obviously I’ve made mistakes from time to time during my career but I can’t change history. I have to live with that.”
Andreescu, who is aiming to win her fifth Slam doubles title at this year’s US Open, said she is “very disappointed not to have taken that opportunity” to make the quarter finals of the event.
“It’s just a mistake,” she said. “No question about it. I take full responsibility for it and I can’t change history, but I can go in with my head up, be humble and recognise that maybe I would have made finals and finished the year.”
As she spoke, Andreescu’s partner Maria Sharapova tweeted: “There are no excuses for any player. Bianca’s actions have no excuses.”
Serena Williams also hit out at Andreescu, saying she “wouldn’t see anything different”.
“There’s no excuse, no regrets,” said the four-time major champion, who added: “I feel for her. I feel very sorry for her and I wish her well. It would hurt me.”
Monica Seles was also vocal in her condemnation of Andreescu after the Italian tennis player apologised to Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic for her behaviour at Wimbledon on