Andreescu pulls off Charleston comeback for first WTA win in eight months

The wait is over. Former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu snapped a five-match losing streak to post her first WTA win since July – and got a little revenge to boot, defeating Dalma Galfi 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the first round of the Charleston Open.

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The 25-year-old’s last win at this stage came over Barbora Krejcikova in the first round of her home tournament in Montreal eight months ago – but she suffered an ankle injury in the match which sidelined her for two months, the latest in a string of injuries that have plagued her career. Back in action, Andreescu lost to Beijing’s Anna Bondar, Osaka’s Viktorija Golubic, Tokyo’s Victoria Mboko, Austin’s Galfi and Indian Wells’ Kamilla Rakhimova.

However, Andreescu has found the feeling of winning — and the sport’s most important workout — by going down this year. She compiled a 13-1 record and won two titles on the Floridian ITF World Tennis Tour in January, and reached the final of the Austin WTA 125 last month. In the last 10 weeks, he has raised his ranking from No. 228 to No. 140.

“I wanted to do that in 2024 [after a nine-month hiatus]but I think we can say that my ego got in the way of that,” Andreescu said about his decision to return to the ITF circuit. “I decided that maybe it’s time to put that aside and really find what I’ve always needed, which is sports. There’s no guarantee you’ll be getting a lot of matches — the level of the ITF circuit is huge, I think. They fight for a lot.

“When I look back at how I feel on the WTA Tour, it’s more relaxed, right? You get a lot of advantages when you’re on the WTA Tour, so mentally you might be a little more relaxed. But on the ITF Tour, I mean, it’s do-or-die. These players don’t break easily. I showed myself that I can play match after match and feel good. I played 1 or 1 days, my body 1 or 1.

Bringing that success to the touring level has also been the missing piece of the puzzle. In Austin five weeks ago, Galfi upset Andreescu in a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 rollercoaster, stopping the late Canadian charge from 4-0 to the decider. When they got to their game in Charleston, Andreescu still had no answers. Even though he got some good shots, he couldn’t sustain that style in the big moments. The break points were a particular source of confusion: World No. 84 Galfi saved the first 11 he faced, four in the first set and seven in three separate games in the second.

Andreescu’s comeback started with an efficient serve — all four of his aces came in the second set — as well as several routes to the net where he showed a nice touch. At 4-3, his patience was rewarded when Galfi finally found the net with the first break point – and with that success, the match moved to the wild card.

Having fought hard to break Galfi for a long time, Andreescu won the last four of the Hungarian’s five service games; and in the third set, she conceded just four points to set up a second round meeting with fellow major champion and 16th seed Sofia Kenin. Andreescu has a 4-1 advantage over Kenin, last year’s runner-up, although this will mark their first clay court meeting.

Before facing Galfi, Andreescu had talked about working to achieve consistency throughout the tournament.

“When there’s a lot of threat, if I’m down or playing someone I really want to beat, that threat gives me less power,” he said. “But I have been working to try to execute from A to Z in the same way and not rely on having it.”

Although he had to rely on his fighting spirit to pass, Andreescu’s situation was more stable than the points indicated: his change was to find his best tennis more important points than looking for his general form. However, he was satisfied with his day job after that.

“At the end of the day, effort is what matters to me,” he said in his courtroom interview. “If I gave my best that day, which I think I did, that’s the most important thing. And then determination, that’s what I talk about with my coach every day. If I can give those two things, then win or lose, it doesn’t matter to me — I have to be happy with that.”