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Bianca Andreescu hits back at critics after gamesmanship accusations

Yahoo Sports Canada
·4 min read
Bianca Andreescu (pictured left) during an on-court interview and (pictured right) leaning over after a tennis point.
Bianca Andreescu (pictured) apologised to fans for her struggles on the court at the Canadian Open, before blasting critics on social media. (Images: Tennis Channel/Getty Images)

Written by Riley Morgan. This article originally appeared on Yahoo Sports Australia.

Canadian favourite Bianca Andreescu has hit back at her critics after she was accused of gamesmanship in her first round win in Toronto.

Andreescu was involved in a dramatic two-set victory over Daria Kasatkina where she called a Medical Time Out and took her time in vital moments of the match.

The Canadian drew criticism after taking long breaks between sets and in the first set tiebreak.

During the tiebreaker, Andreescu sat down and took a long time to emerge.

Andreescu came away with the hard-fought victory, but viewers pointed out that her opponent offered a 'cold' handshake after the match.

The Canadian is no stranger to criticism with Angelique Kerber once hailing Andreescu a 'drama queen'.

But, this time, her behaviour garnered plenty of criticism as many claimed Andreescu was using 'gamesmanship' to put her opponent off.

The home crowd supported Andreescu throughout the match and the 22-year-old addressed the drama immediately in her on-court interview.

"I don't want to be dramatic, even though...I was honestly a mess," she said.

"I am so sorry for my attitude. I really did not feel well."

Bianca Andreescu, pictured here in action against Daria Kasatkina at the Canadian Open.
Bianca Andreescu in action against Daria Kasatkina at the Canadian Open. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

She then told the media her time out was not due to her previous injury.

"It has nothing to do with my back. I felt really dizzy," she said.

"Maybe something that I ate or all the stress leading up to the tournament. I felt good today leading up to the match."

"If it wasn't for them I don't think I would have pulled through, because they really gave me a lot of positive energy," she added about the crowd.

"I hit a shot and I was just like, I was seeing double almost. So that was kind of like the point where I didn't feel the best."

Bianca Andreescu hits out at critics

Despite her apology, Andreescu wasn't done.

The 22-year-old took to social media overnight to hit back at her critics that continued to call her out for her behaviour.

“I genuinely did not feel good,” Andreescu wrote on social media.

“I definitely did not mean to cause any harm/distraction or whatever people have been calling it to my opponent or anyone in that matter…It just makes me sad to see that people really believe that.

"Us athletes go through injuries, sickness etc, the last thing I want to do is put more of that energy in the air, especially if it’s fake?”

"Try being in our position and see how y'all do."

She also added: "I am only human."

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