MELBOURNE, Australia — As Bianca Andreescu vaulted from No. 152 in the world to the United States Open champion during 2019, she appeared to be playing with a tennis angel on her shoulder.
And then good fortune left Andreescu, the 20-year-old Canadian, shortly after she lifted that U.S. Open trophy.
Andreescu sustained a torn meniscus that October. Then came the coronavirus pandemic, which, combined with the knee injury, kept her from competing for all of 2020. She trained through the fall and into the new year to hit the ground running upon landing in Australia. Then her coach tested positive for the virus shortly after he arrived on a flight from Abu Dhabi, sending Andreescu into a hard lockdown for 14 days because of their contact.