Bianca Andreescu wasn’t given a wild card for the Miami Open main draw.
Regardless, she looked to be in good form heading into the qualifying event…
Last week, Andreescu reached the final of the WTA 125 tournament in Austin, defeating Paula Badosa along the way.
She hoped to carry that momentum forward to Miami, but things didn’t go to plan.
Bianca Andreescu loses to Katie Volynets in Miami Open qualifying
Andreescu won her first qualifying match, against Suzan Lamens in three sets, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.
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Advancing to the second round of qualifying, Andreescu took on the American, Katie Volynets.
The 2019 US Open champion lost a tight first set, 5-7, as Volynets took charge.
Andreescu was unable to fight back and force a decider, losing the second set, 2-6.
The Canadian’s serve let her down at times in Florida, as she failed to qualify for the main draw of the Miami Open.
Bianca Andreescu vs Katie Volynets – Match stats
| Stat | Bianca Andreescu | Katie Volynets |
| Aces | 2 | 0 |
| Double faults | 0 | 0 |
| 1st Serve % | 53% | 60% |
| Win % on 1st Serve | 46% | 78% |
| Win % on 2nd Serve | 32% | 25% |
| Break points | 2/7 | 5/10 |
This isn’t the first time Andreescu has lost a qualifying match at a ‘big’ tournament.
She suffered several heartbreaking defeats in 2025.
Bianca Andreescu’s qualifying defeats in 2025
- 2025 French Open – Lost in Q2 to Nao Hibino
- 2025 Wimbledon – Lost in Q2 to Carson Branstine
- 2025 Wuhan Open – Lost in Q2 to Anastasia Zakharova
The second round of qualifying continues to trouble a player who lifted a Grand Slam title just seven years ago.
What went wrong for Bianca Andreescu?
In September 2019, Andreescu was the talk of the tennis world.
The Canadian had won two WTA 1000 titles that year, and the US Open, becoming the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Unfortunately for Andreescu, she was unable to end her year on a high, as she injured her knee at the WTA Finals.
That knee injury forced her out of the first few months of the 2020 season, including the Australian Open.
Then, to make matters worse, the season shut down for several months due to the global pandemic.
Andreescu didn’t return until the next year’s Australian Open, where she lost in the second round to the world number 71 Su-Wei Hsieh.
Bouncing back, Andreescu reached the final of the Miami Open shortly after.
She lost to Ash Barty, but proved she still had what it takes to play high-level tennis.
- 2021 Miami Open final – Ash Barty defeated Bianca Andreescu, 6-3, 4-0 (RET)
That was, however, the highlight of her season.
Disappointing showings at Wimbledon, the French Open, the Canadian Open, and Indian Wells followed.
Andreescu finished the year ranked 46th, down 39 places from 2020.
2022 wasn’t much better, as the Canadian failed to impress after missing the first few months of the year with injury.
Another disappointing season in 2023 prompted Andreescu to take a break from tennis.
After a nine-month hiatus, Andreescu returned at the 2024 French Open.
She wasn’t the player she once was, but picked up impressive wins from time to time.
Inconsistent form prevented her from making a top-100 comeback.
Knowing something had to change, she made a brave decision earlier this year.
Andreescu chose to start her 2026 season on the ITF tour.
There, she won two titles, back-to-back.
- 2026 ITF Bradenton
- 2026 ITF Vero Beach
That helped her ranking, and gave her a boost in confidence.
A Challenger final appearance in Austin followed.
Andreescu is capable, that’s for sure, and somewhere in there, is the player that won a Grand Slam title.
But it’s now clear that she’s not going to rediscover her best form by playing and losing in qualifying tournaments.
Instead, she needs to rebuild, brick by brick, from the ITF tour, to the Challenger tour, to the WTA Tour.
Skipping steps isn’t going to work, as evidenced by her latest qualifying defeat in Miami.
As Andreescu and her team assess options for the clay-court season, the WTA events shouldn’t be the priority.
Instead, she should try something like this…
- ITF clay event
- ITF clay event
- Challenger clay event
- Challenger clay event
- French Open (qualifying)
If Andreescu were to enjoy success on clay at the smaller tournaments, she could even qualify for the Roland Garros main draw directly.
Setting that as a target could be the motivation she needs to get back to her best.
Otherwise, these second-round qualifying defeats are going to keep happening!
