Bianca Andreescu gives Nike a dressing down at US Open before issuing apology
The US Open champion has issued an apology to Nike over a controversial tweet made out of context about her performance in Flushing Meadows on Sunday.
With her tournament in jeopardy, Andreescu, who was up against the No1 seed, Angelique Kerber, had put her name forward for the title. A second-round clash with Kerber did not go as Andreescu had planned, as she fell to the Russian in straight sets.
Reassuring the US Open champ on multiple occasions, Andreescu tweeted that she had “missed an important shot” in the match. However, the tweet caused outrage among tennis writers and fans when she claimed that she had in fact lost the point.
The athlete later issued a statement, in which she apologised as she believed that her tweet had been taken out of context.
The statement read: “I have learned that words can be misinterpreted all too often. With this in mind, I have issued an apology to Nike and have accepted its decision not to use the No. 1 seed’s name in its advertising. This was a poorly worded tweet out of context, and I take full responsibility for what I did.”
Andreescu, who has won three major junior titles including Wimbledon and the French Open, said she was willing to apologise to ‘everyone’ for making the statement.
“However I think it is time for me to speak with everyone at the US Open so that we can all agree on the facts. To be clear, the point I missed in defeat was a double-fault. This is true and the point was dropped,” continued Andreescu.
She said that she had lost the point on a serve, but only because she was facing such a high shot. Andreescu also revealed that there were many instances when she could have won the point, but made the decision to ‘drop the ball’.
She also said, “The real regret is not the time that I’ve wasted by making this statement. The real regret is the harm done to Nikes brand. The real regret is that I don’t want to hurt anyone by not being a true, professional athlete.”
Nike, however, has said that they do not plan to use Andreescu’s name
