It was a historic day at the Grand Harbor Golf and Beach Club, as the stadium court was officially named in honor of tennis legend and Vero Beach resident Ivan Lendl. Later, with the trophy in hand, Andreescu posed beside the newly unveiled marble plaque honoring Lendl’s career titles and weeks spent as world No. 1.
Bianca Andreescu completed her outstanding week at the ITF W75 Vero Beach with another straight-set win, defeating You Xiaodi 7-5 6-1 to claim her second title of the year. The first came in Bradenton on January 18th when she lifted the W35 title.
The No. 6 seed briefly lost her early first-set advantage but regained momentum with a crucial break in the 11th game, closing out the opener on serve. You Xiaodi managed to hold serve at the start of the second set, but Andreescu soon reeled off six consecutive games to wrap up the match in straight sets.
When the 2026 season began, Andreescu found herself ranked No. 228 in the world. Since then, the 2019 US Open champion has put together an impressive resurgence, capturing ITF titles in Bradenton and Vero Beach while also reaching the semifinals in Weston.
After ending her 2025 season on a three-match losing streak, Andreescu’s ranking left her outside the cutoff for direct entry into the Australian Open main draw, but good enough to enter the qualifying draw. She would’ve needed to win 3 matches in a row to earn a spot in the main draw. Although she initially entered qualifying, the former world No. 4 ultimately chose not to make the trip to Australia.
Instead, the 25-year-old committed to rebuilding her game on the ITF circuit, prioritizing match wins and momentum. That stretch has propelled her up 66 spots in the rankings, with Andreescu now sitting at No. 162. Beyond the rankings, the run of victories has helped restore a belief that was absent for much of 2025.
Championship Sunday brought challenging conditions, as a cold front swept through Florida, dropping temperatures below 40 degrees and producing wind gusts of 20–25 miles per hour.
You Xiaodi proved to be a far trickier opponent in the conditions, using her heavy, loopy forehand and well-disguised slice off both wings to disrupt Andreescu’s rhythm. The combination of heavy spin, swirling winds, and demanding conditions ensured that Andreescu had to work for the title on Sunday. Although much of the match was played on Andreescu’s terms, the unfamiliar matchup and tricky conditions made for a measured start, with both players trading holds through the opening four games.
It was Andreescu who got the first break, but You responded immediately, breaking back via a 13 point game. 3 all in the first! Andreescu earned herself a few more looks on the You serve, but wasn’t able to break through again until 5-5, where she upped the aggression and started to trust her game more, an hour into the match. She closed out the set and didn’t look back from there, taking the second set 6-1, all in all an hour and 45 minutes of work.
Earlier in January, she lifted the Bradenton title with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Vivian Wolff, a victory that carried emotional weight as her first professional singles trophy since her breakthrough US Open run in 2019. After winning the ITF title in Bradenton, Andreescu said “This win means a lot. I haven’t won a tournament in a really long time so this one definitely means a lot. It hasn’t been an easy journey but this one is very special to me.”
Although her current ranking of No. 162 is still not high enough for the 2019 US Open champion to gain direct entry into most WTA main draws, Andreescu has rediscovered form and could look to test herself through qualifying on the WTA Tour. There also remains the possibility that the Canadian receives main-draw wildcards at select upcoming events.
From the opening rounds to lifting the trophy, Andreescu reminded the tennis world why she remains one of the sport’s most compelling competitors, blending fearless shot-making with a level of strategic maturity rarely seen on tour.
