Bianca Andreescu's tennis return continues to be delayed but takes aim at Olympic Games

Those who follow Bianca Andreescu on Instagram would've noticed the former US Open and Indian Wells champion was on a plane set for California as she visited the tournament that initially she was going to return at.

Andreescu has had to postpone the start to her season twice with the Australian Open and Indian Wells both falling by the wayside after having to withdraw from the US Open last year due to a stress fracture in her back. It is a year on from the 23-year-old showing some of her best form since returning including a miraculous comeback from a potential season-ending ankle injury in Miami.

But there is no such miraculous return yet with Andreescu taking part in a Q&A and is setting a more modest goal of returning during the clay court season and also aiming towards the Olympics. With only really herself and Leylah Fernandez as the top Canadian stars, she is likely of a spot in the team as of right now and will aim to cement that on her return.

"It’s been a crazy seven, eight months since I played my last match (in August). Obviously I’ve been dealing with the back injury but that’s been healed now. I’m basically just starting to train again, taking it easy because I don’t want to make it worse," said Andreescu (as per bnpparibasopen.com).

"The Olympics are this year. It’ll be my first Olympics, so I want to be able to play that tournament. We’re taking it step by step. I was talking to my friend earlier today. The reason why I play tennis is that I love to compete so much. It’s obviously nice to be here but I would have loved to play. But I’m feeling much better, now that I’m healed. I can play again and now the goal is the French Open. I’ve been training on the clay.

But despite a return being imminent eventually, it won't be right away with Andreescu not fully training yet. "I started training about a month ago, and no, I’m not completely ready to start playing practice sets. We’re hoping in the next two or three weeks that I can start to ramp up. Right now, the main focus is just building my back and my fitness so that when I start playing points, I won’t have any issues. We want to make practice as difficult as possible so that when I start competing again, that matches are super easy. It’s gradual."