NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu apologised to her sponsor Nike for an on-court outburst after her choice of wardrobe for Monday’s first-round match landed her in a spot of bother amid windy conditions.
Andreescu was out on the Grandstand court to play Harmony Tan but the winds at the open arena kept blowing her skirt up and affecting her shots, forcing the 22-year-old to approach the chair umpire and request an additional bathroom break to change.
“Will this not count as one of my changeovers? I mean it’s not my fault, it’s Nike’s fault,” she told the umpire.
“This dress is so, so bad… I need to go (change), this is really bad.”
Andreescu returned wearing a white Nike tank top and skirt to eventually beat Tan 6-0 3-6 6-1.
“It was just bothering me on some forehands. I just felt like it was kind of coming up a bit. Obviously the wind didn’t help,” she told reporters.
“But I meant no disrespect with what I said to the umpire. I was trying to convince him to not take away that washroom break, because I know we only get two. He was very nice to say it was totally okay.
“I could have definitely used a different choice of wording. So I apologise to anyone I disrespected. I love Nike and I hope I can be with them for the rest of my life!”
Andreescu will next play Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
