Bianca Andreescu's wardrobe gaffe baffles US Open: 'Never seen that'
Canadian Bianca Andreescu sparked confusion after a bizarre outfit request before her first round US Open match.
Andreescu was up against Harmony Tan in the first round but the Canadian became disgruntled after the warm-up due to her Nike outfit.
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The World No.48 approached the chair umpire and asked if she could go change her dress because it was riding up when hitting forehands.
However, the tennis player didn't want the interlude to count as one of her limited bathroom breaks before play got underway.
Andreescu then, bizarrely, put the blame on her sponsor.
“Can this not count as one of my changeovers because, I mean, it’s not my fault, it’s Nike’s fault. This dress is so bad,” Andreescu asked the umpire.
Andreescu got approval, but still took a dig at the dress.
“OK, I need to go. This is really bad," she added.
The 22-year-old returned in a different Nike outfit to kick-start her campaign.
Fans were quick to react to the bizarre outfit change, before a point had been played, in just the first round of the US Open.
"It's not my fault, it's Nike's fault, this dress is so ... so bad."
Missed this from the start of the Andreescu match. I think the dress was moving so much in the wind Andreescu changed it after the warm-up.
Going to be some awkward phone calls with Nike reps, I imagine. https://t.co/alv1xbYj9o— The Tennis Podcast (@TennisPodcast) August 29, 2022
"This is the first time I'm wearing this dress and it's really uncomfortable. I need to go this is really bad. It's really uncomfortable" pic.twitter.com/cZ5JO9R2b9
— NoFirstName claycourtdal (@SMSTNS) August 29, 2022
Andreescu just had to go change before her match started, into her warmup outfit (or similar) because she disliked the dress from the sponsor so much. Can’t say I’ve seen that one happen so obviously before.
— Whitney McIntosh (@WhitneyM02) August 29, 2022
"It's not my fault; it's Nike's fault. This dress is so bad".
Bianca Andreescu played her first match of US Open 2022 against Harmony Tan today. She was evidently uncomfortable in her dress.#USOpen2022 #nike— Akshata Shukla (@shukla_akshata) August 29, 2022
The end of Bianca Andreescu's Nike deal?
"This isn't my fault. It's Nike's fault. This dress is so bad."#USOpen https://t.co/RGCITaiu8Y— James Gray (@jamesgraysport) August 29, 2022
bianca andreescu complaimed about her nike dress.
interesting.— Anisimova Agenda (@AnisimovAgenda) August 29, 2022
Considering Bianca's popularity in women's tennis, it will be interesting to see how Nike reacts to her comments.
Will this mean the end of the deal is near?
Thoughts anyone?— Akshata Shukla (@shukla_akshata) August 29, 2022
Bianca Andreescu explains outfit furore
The outfit changed worked wonders as Andreescu went on to knock out the dangerous Tan 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 to set up a clash with 15th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia.
However, after the match, Andreescu apologised to her sponsor over the furore.
The Canadian clarified why she was so perturbed by the outfit in the first round.
"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," Andreescu added.
"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. But, yeah."
The 22-year-old went on to praise her sponsor, Nike, following the confusion.
"Oh of course. I have no choice. I'd rather be with Nike for the rest of my life. And, yeah, I definitely apologise with what I said," she added.
Everyone will be interested to see what Andreescu does with her outfit for the second round.
Andreescu rose to superstardom after winning the 2019 US Open against Serena Williams in the final.
with AAP
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