Bianca Andreescu has returned to winning ways on the WTA Tour for the first time since July.
Andreescu has dealt with many injuries since winning the US Open in 2019, and played just 16 WTA matches last year.
The Canadian even decided to skip the Australian Open this year, with Andreescu choosing to play lower-level ITF tournaments instead.
Despite finding success on the ITF Tour, Andreescu was still yet to win a WTA Tour match in 2026 until her first round match against Dalma Galfi at the Charleston Open.
Bianca Andreescu reacts after winning her first round match in Charleston
Andreescu had actually lost to Galfi already this year, having been beaten by the Hungarian at her first WTA tournament of the year in Austin.
It looked to be going a similar way for Andreescu again after she lost the first set 6-1, but she managed to turn it around to beat Galfi 1-6, 6-4, 6-1.
This is Andreescu’s first WTA main draw win since July, when she beat Barbora Krejcikova at the Canadian Open.
In her on-court interview after the match, Andreescu explained what the two most important things to her now are over winning and losing on court.
“At the end of the day, it’s the effort that counts for me,” said Andreescu, as reported by wtatour.com. “If I’ve given the best I could that day, which I think I did, that’s the most important thing.
“And then intention, that’s what I speak about with my coach every single day. If I can give those two things, then win or lose, it doesn’t matter to me — have to be pleased with that.”
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Andreescu also spoke to Tennis Channel after her victory, where she admitted the challenges of adjusting to the bigger court size at the WTA 500 tournament in Charleston.
“Yeah, it wasn’t easy. I played her a few weeks back and I knew it was going to be an interesting matchup, because she’s a very tricky player and I’m just super happy with how I bounced back,” said Andreescu.
“…Also I played a [WTA] 125 recently and the court size is different, so I think the first set was more me kind of adjusting to that, and she did play well too, but I picked it back up and I’m just super happy.”
While Andreescu admitted that this was initially challenging to adjust to, she actually prefers the larger space at the back of the court at WTA tournaments like Charleston.
“Well I think for me it’s more just the court size and positioning I guess might take a bit more to get used to, but I do prefer when there’s more space, because I can take a step back and hit my…I don’t want to call them moon balls, because my coach doesn’t like when I use that word, like heavy shots,” the former world number four explained.
Andreescu was then asked about her decision to play ITF events at the start of the year, which she believes was a ‘great decision’ after playing 14 matches on the lower-level circuit.
“Honestly, I thought it was a great decision,” said Andreescu. “I had no expectations, winning or losing, my goal was just to get as many matches in as possible and implement what I have been working on with my new coach Dusan [Vemic] in practice, in matches, and I think I did that really well.
“Obviously winning is a nice quantifiable thing to feel or to know that the hard work you’re putting in makes a difference, so it was really nice.”
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Bianca Andreescu now has a big opportunity to achieve something for the first time since 2024
Andreescu now moves on to the second round of the Charleston Open, where she will play last year’s finalist and former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
Despite facing a Grand Slam champion in her next match, Andreescu should be encouraged by her chances of beating Kenin.
Kenin is currently on an eight-match losing streak, and Andreescu leads her head-to-head against the American 4-1.
| Year | Tournament | Result |
| 2017 | Rancho Santa Fe Open – ITF (SF) | Andreescu beat Kenin, 6-3 7-6(3) |
| 2019 | Mexican Open (SF) | Kenin beat Andreescu, 6-4 3-6 7-5 |
| 2019 | Miami Open (R64) | Andreescu beat Kenin, 6-3 6-3 |
| 2019 | Canadian Open (SF) | Andreescu beat Kenin, 6-4 7-6(5) |
| 2023 | Miami Open (R32) | Andreescu beat Kenin, 6-4 6-4 |
If Andreescu is able to continue her dominant record against Kenin then she will reach her first WTA 500 final since 2024, when she did so at the Tokyo Open.
The second round match between the two Grand Slam champions will take place on Wednesday, April 1.
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