Andreescu to make Olympic debut as part of powerful Canadian tennis team
Canada's Bianca Andreescu plays a shot against Italy's Jasmine Paolini during their third round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 1, 2024. Andreescu will continue her comeback at the Paris Games as part of a loaded Canadian tennis team looking for its first Olympic medal in 24 years. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Thibault Camus
TORONTO — Bianca Andreescu will continue her comeback at the Paris Games as part of a loaded Canadian tennis team looking for its first Olympic medal in 24 years.
The 2019 U.S. Open champ from Mississauga, Ont., was named to Canada's Olympic team along with Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime, Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski and Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont.
Andreescu, 23, will make her Olympic debut in women's singles competition after injuries forced her to pull out of the Tokyo Games.
She returned to action earlier this year after a layoff of nearly 10 months with a back injury and reached the final of the grass-court Libema Open.
"Playing at the Olympic Games has been a huge goal of mine these past few months as I have been working my way back from injury,” Andreescu said in a release. "It is always an honour to represent my country and I cannot wait to do that again alongside Canada’s incredible team of athletes on the world’s biggest stage in Paris.
"This is a dream come true and I can’t wait to soak up the Olympic atmosphere and give it everything."
The athletes qualified for Paris 2024 based on their WTA and ATP Tour rankings as of June 10. Andreescu and Raonic used their protected rankings to gain direct entry.
Canada will bring a wealth of international success to Paris. Auger-Aliassime led Canada to a Davis Cup title in 2022, while Fernandez and Dabrowski were part of the Canadian squad that won the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023.
Fernandez, 21, is making her second Olympic appearance after advancing to the second round at the Tokyo Games. She is Canada’s highest-ranked women’s singles player at No. 30. She was a U.S. Open finalist in 2021 shortly after appearing at the Tokyo Olympics.
"It’s a great experience to be able to meet and spend time with athletes from other disciplines," she said. "We are all normally so focused within our own sports, and the Olympics gives us all a chance to learn from each other and come together as one big family.”
Fernandez will also team with Dabrowski in women's doubles. Dabrowski is ranked fourth in the world in women's doubles and teamed up with New Zealand's Erin Routliffe to win the 2023 U.S. Open title.
Dabrowski won all three of her matches at the BJK Cup finals, including teaming up with Fernandez to win a clinching doubles match against Czechia's Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in the semifinals.
“In sport, there is no greater honour than competing in the Olympics alongside the best athletes in the world,” said Dabrowski, who teamed with Eugenie Bouchard at the 2016 Rio Games. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to participate and partner with Leylah. Can’t wait to be there.”
Auger-Aliassime and Raonic will play in men's singles and team up in doubles competition.
Auger-Aliassime, 17th in the ATP singles ranking, will make his second Olympic appearance after playing in men’s singles and mixed doubles at Tokyo 2020.
He had a breakout 2022 season as he advanced to his third straight Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open, won his first career title in Rotterdam, and then won three titles in three weeks late in the year.
This year, he reached the final in Madrid to become the first Canadian Masters 1000 finalist on clay courts.
“It’s a global event that brings the world and the athletes together around the Olympic values of friendship, respect and excellence," Auger-Aliassime said of the Olympics. "I’m proud to be part of this inspiring event and I look forward to carrying the Canadian flag as high and far as possible."
Raonic, the 33-year-old veteran of the team, is appearing in his second Olympics and first since London 2012, where he lost in a marathon second-round match against France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
"My first Olympic experience at London 2012 was amazing, and I’m sure this will be even more so,” said Raonic. “We, as a team, have such strength in depth that we go there with the chance of doing something special.
"For me, this is an opportunity I thought might not come around again, so I’m going to savour every moment."
Canada's only Olympic tennis medal came at the 2000 Sydney Games, when Daniel Nestor and Sebastian Lareau stunned Australian favourites Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge to win men's doubles gold.
Tennis will take place from July 27 to Aug. 4 on the clay courts of Roland Garros, the site of the French Open.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2024.
The Canadian Press