Emotional Bianca Andreescu leaves court in wheelchair after injury at Miami Open

Canadian tennis star Bianca Andreescu was forced to leave the court in a wheelchair after suffering an injury during Monday's match against Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Round of 16 at the Miami Open.

Andreescu officially retired at 6-7, 2-0, winning 75 percent of her points on first serve. With tears in her eyes, she left the court to a standing ovation. Alexandrova, who will face Petra Kvitova in the next round, came over to console a devastated Andreescu as her team prepared for her exit.

“I’ve never felt this kind of pain before,” Andreescu said in agony while the medical team approached.

The 22-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., suffered the injury during the third game of the second set while tracking down a shot.

Andreescu was off to an excellent start to the tournament, defeating Emma Raducanu 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the Round of 128, before proceeding to knock off No. 7 Maria Sakkari 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, then defeating Sofia Kenin in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.

This is a potentially devastating injury for Andreescu, who was rounding into form with the summer schedule on the horizon. Andreescu had previously advanced to the Round of 32 in the Indian Wells Masters before losing in straight sets to No. 1 Iga Swiatek in a tightly contested match.

Andreescu has a lengthy history with long-term injuries, suffering a torn meniscus in October 2019, shortly after winning the U.S. Open against childhood hero Serena Williams. Andreescu did not play the entire 2020 season in large part due to the complications from the COVID-19 pandemic, then struggled through the 2021 season. Andreescu missed the opening three months of the 2022 season and struggled with a back injury towards the end of the year.

Andreescu said in a recent interview that she actually contemplated retiring from tennis in 2021.

“That was, honestly, about me wanting to figure out if I really wanted to continue playing tennis,” Andreescu told reporters on Sunday, per The Telegraph. “I was literally about to drop my rackets and say, ‘Screw this.’ I wasn't happy at all and I wasn't happy basically for the full year of 2021. I thought, if I continue like this, it's just going to get worse."

Those hardships from the past few years have helped Andreescu grow as both a player and a person.

"I’ve definitely learned a lot,” Andreescu told Sportsnet's Vivek Jacob earlier this month. “I feel like I’ve learned a lot even in the past two months about myself, which is such a great thing about life, you’re constantly growing, you’re constantly learning. The main thing is I want to be able to feel good in my own skin whether I win a match or lose a match.”