Bianca Andreescu Stumbles in Abu Dhabi but Her Brilliance Endures

The Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open is well underway, and the tournament has been full of exciting games so far. Just recently, Belinda Bencic secured her spot in the quarterfinals by beating Marta Kostyuk in a close match that ended 6-4 7-5 in Bencic’s favor.

At the same time, the tournament had quite a few upsets, one of which was undoubtedly Bianca Andreescu’s loss to Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.

Why Was Andreescu’s Loss Such an Upset?

Tuesday was a disappointing day for the majority of Canadian tennis fans when the Canadian tennis superstar, Bianca Andreescu, ended her Abu Dhabi WTA run in the Round of 32. Andreescu lost to Yulia Putintseva 6-7 2-6, after the brilliant performance of the Kazakhstani tennis player. 

Virtually every Canadian sports betting site pegged Andreescu as a favorite. Not only is Andreescu a higher-rated player, but she is also younger and was in a better condition than her opponent—on paper, at least.

At the time of writing, Bianca Andreescu is ranked 37th, compared to Putintseva who is 45th on the WTA Tour list. More importantly, Andreescu was in much better form—Bianca reached the semifinals in the Thailand Open and was eliminated in the Round of 64 during the Australian open.

In contrast, Putintseva was eliminated in the Round of 32 during the Thailand Open and suffered a crushing defeat at the hand of Karolina Pliskova during the Round of 64 at the Australian Open, losing 0-6 5-7.

In addition to going deeper into the tournaments, Andreescu was winning her recent matches much more convincingly than Putintseva. On the other hand, in the matches that she did lose, she put up a bigger fight than Putintseva, confirming she was in much better shape physically than her opponent.

Still, Putintseva was simply the better player on Tuesday and swiftly dispatched Andreescu.

A Minor Setback for Andreescu

In just 1 hour and 40 minutes, Yulia Putintseva eliminated Andreescu from the Hologic WTA Tour event. Putintseva had 21 winners to 16 unforced errors and managed to convert five out of nine break points.

Putintseva took advantage of slices and drop shots to run away with a 6-0 lead in the first set, which ended 6-7 in her favor. After a grueling first set, Yulia Putintseva pressured her opponent and managed to snatch the win, securing her place in the Round of 16 where she will face Haddad Maia.

Despite a disappointing loss and an early exit from the tournament, Bianca Andreescu is still widely regarded as a brilliant tennis player. Even though Bianca is only 22 years old, she already has a Grand Slam title under her belt—Bianca Andreescu won the US Open in 2019, after beating Serena Williams 6-3 7-5.

Unfortunately for Andreescu, she endured many hardships for the next two years after winning the US Open. She withdrew from the 2020 Australian Open to tend to her injury, lost in the first round of Wimbledon in 2021 and had to pull out of the Madrid Open after testing positive for Covid.

At one point, Andreescu wanted to quit tennis. However, luckily for us and all the Canadian tennis fans out there, she is still going strong and giving it her best. Because of that, we’re positive she will quickly brush off her loss to Putintseva and come back stronger than ever.

Final Thoughts

Bianca Andreescu had an exciting career and according to many experts, she is yet to reach the peak of her career. After taking some time off the court, Andreescu is back to playing tennis, hungry for another major title.

Known for her powerful forehand and strong determination to win every match, it is unlikely that her loss to Putintseva will have a major effect on her future performance so, with that in mind, we’re looking forward to seeing her brilliant performances on the court again.