2019 US Open champ Andreescu takes time off for mental break

By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer

2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu says she will take a mental break from tennis and sit out the start of next season, including the Australian Open. Andreescu said Monday in a posting on Twitter that she wants to “re-set, recover, and grow” after a challenging two years that included getting COVID-19. The 21-year-old from Canada said she was affected mentally and physically by quarantining when she got sick in April and that her grandmother’s stay for several weeks in a hospital’s intensive care unit because of the coronavirus hit her hard. Andreescu joins other professional athletes who have cited the need for time away from competition to gather themselves mentally.