Canada’s Bianca Andreescu, who was struggling with right shoulder pain, was eliminated in the second set of her duel against Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine in the semifinals of the Thailand Tennis Open on Saturday.
The Ontarian didn’t seem entirely comfortable towards the end of the first end, eventually slipping four straight games 3-5 to lose 7-5. After his opponent took a 4-0 lead in the second set, Andreescu decided to throw in the towel.
First-seeded Hua Hin was out in the second set due to their 42nd world ranking. His powerless serve saw him win just one of the eight points on the first serve.
Andreescu had another Ukrainian, Marta Kostyuk, to get the four aces. She had won in two completely different sets 6-0 and 7-6(3).
Veteran Tsurenko, ranked 136th in the world, reached her first final since 2019, she who previously ranked 23rd in the WTA. In the last game she meets the Chinese Zhu Lin, who defeated her compatriot and doubles partner Wang Xinyu in the preliminary round.
However, Andreescu’s career should allow her to return to the top 40 in the rankings, once again becoming the top Canadian ahead of Quebec’s Leylah Fernandez (38th).