“It had become difficult to really listen to myself and enjoy my sport" - Bianca Andreescu on her mental health break

Bianca Andreescu is set to kick off her grasscourt season in Berlin, which starts tomorrow. Five of the top 10 players, led by World No. 4 Ons Jabeur, will also compete in the tournament.

Prior to the event, Andreescu spoke to the Star and opened up about what prompted her to take a three-month mental health break at the start of the season. She revealed that she had been through so much chaos that listening to herself and enjoying her sport became a struggle.

“I’d gone through so much chaos that it had become difficult to really listen to myself and enjoy my sport. I thought that I was dealing with it in the best way that I could, but I ended up finding out that I had to go through that moment to really know how to truly deal with things, how to truly deal with adversity. I felt that if I continued, I wouldn’t be able really find that," Bianca Andreescu said.

She cited the pandemic, her grandmother becoming severely ill from COVID and catching the virus herself as among the things that took a toll on her mentally. During her time off, she travelled to the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica where she participated in a retreat. She did yoga and meditation there, including qigong, a mind-body-spirit practice from traditional Chinese medicine. She avoided social media throughout.

Her break from tennis helped her rediscover her love for the sport. She also learned to love herself "in a better way," focusing on the process rather than the result.

"Being away from the sport made me realize that I truly loved it. And working on myself more than I ever have was super important in that process, because I learned how to love myself in a better way. I felt that I was basing my self-worth at times on my results and when I wouldn’t have that, it wasn’t good. But now that I have that basis, I have the time to process this is how it’s going to be, this is how I want to run my life. It’s really changed a lot. I’m just enjoying everything, really enjoying the process, all the hours in the gym and I’m super committed," said Bianca Andreescu.

"And when I came back, Iga was killing everything!" - Bianca Andreescu

Bianca Andreescu suffered a defeat from surging Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open last month

Bianca Andreescu returned to action in Stuttgart in April, where she lost in the second round to Aryna Sabalenka. World No. 1 Iga Swiatek eventually took home the title in the tournament for her fourth straight trophy of the season. The 21-year-old Pole is now on a 35-game roll as she lifted her second French Open trophy – and sixth consecutive title this year.

"And when I came back, Iga was killing everything!" Bianca Andreescu said in her interview with the Star.

The 2019 US Open champion exited early in the French Open – she bowed to 2020 Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic in the second round – but she is now setting her sights on her Wimbledon preparation.

With Swiatek withdrawing from the Berlin Open due to "recurrent discomfort" on her shoulder, it is an open race between the likes of Ons Jabeur, Maria Sakkari, Aryna Sabalenka, Karolina Pliskova, Coco Gauff, Bencic and Andreescu.