Bianca Andreescu gives Nike a dressing down at US Open before issuing apology and saying, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know that I was being disrespectful to all of you” — Andrew Rannells (@AndrewRannells) August 26, 2012
Andreescu was suspended for two months for “bringing the sport of tennis into disrepute.” She also was fined €5,000 by the tournament’s disciplinary committee.
Nike announced the punishment on Tuesday, saying that Andreescu’s “actions go against everything we stand for.”
The company added that Andreescu has apologized to the women’s tour, which has become an extension of the women’s tennis tour, and that she wished to “reinstate her status as an active member.”
“We will not allow any form of discrimination to take place within any of our clubs,” Nike told the Associated Press in a statement.
The tennis tournament in Toronto that was supposed to feature “the most dramatic women’s match in tennis history” has been played to a one-sided 2-2 draw.
Andreescu, who has a 7-6 (5), 6-4 against Czech qualifier Elena Vesnina, complained that she was not getting enough airtime on TV, and that the tournament organizers — including the ESPN crew that is supposed to be on site — were not giving her enough time to warm up and do practice.
According to Andreescu, her coach, Nick Bollettieri, told her there was a problem with her warm-up routine, so she should look into what was wrong rather than taking it to the media.
Numerous commentators noted that Andreescu seems to think that she is above the rules and that she should get away with whatever she wants.
One wrote: “Bianca is the queen of verbal abuse — she is the worst.”