American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Bianca Andreescu got so used to winning in 2019 she almost forgot what it felt like to lose.
The 21-year-old Canadian tennis star has been relearning to deal with disappointment on the court this season while trying to find her footing after 16 months off due to injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Andreescu won three tournaments in 2019 including her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open, skyrocketing to No. 4 on the WTA rankings and cementing herself as a face of women's tennis.
But when her breakthrough season ended abruptly with a knee injury at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen that October, Andreescu felt like she had crashed back down to earth -- hard.
"It was a complete stop ... and that was probably the worst feeling that I had," Andreescu said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press. "It brought me down many levels, because after that I didn't play for a year and a half.
"You go from that high to that low ... And it's like, how do I get back into that zone?"
Still ranked No. 5, Andreescu has played just 19 matches this season, including a first-round exit at Wimbledon last month.
While she looked to have regained her championship form at the Miami Open in April, Andreescu was forced to retire from that final with an ankle injury. A few weeks later, she withdrew from the Madrid Open after testing positive for COVID-19.
The past year has brought many changes and challenges for the Mississauga, Ont., native, including pandemic restrictions that significantly impacted her training regimen, and a parting of ways with long-time coach Sylvain Bruneau.
"This year was about adapting a lot," she said.
"But I think I dealt with it in the best way I could and I learned a lot about myself. ... I try to just move forward and deal with anything that comes my way and learn from it."
Andreescu is partnering with Amazon Canada this summer to share stories of her experiences on and off the court through the Alexa voice service, the company announced Tuesday.
The content also includes training and motivation tips from Andreescu, who said her goal with the collaboration was to "inspire others and bring joy to peoples' lives."
"During this time with the pandemic, things haven't been easy for everyone," she said. "So I hope this can bring some smiles to peoples' faces."
The pandemic has turned a spotlight on mental health concerns for many, including some within the tennis world.
Japanese star and world No. 2 Naomi Osaka furthered the conversation on mental health when she withdrew from the French Open in June, saying in a statement she had dealt with "long bouts of depression" after winning the U.S. Open as a 20-year-old in 2018. She also withdrew from Wimbledon weeks later.
Andreescu, who was 19 when she won the U.S. Open, can relate to Osaka on some levels.
Both players beat American superstar Serena Williams in New York and dealt with increased media and fan attention in the aftermath of their first Grand Slam titles, as well as soaring expectations to continue winning.
Andreescu called the flood of attention "overwhelming."
"At first it was great because I was winning and doing well ... (but) then it got to a point where I got injured again, I didn't play in 2020, so there were a lot of times media (would) say rude things," she added.
Andreescu is currently preparing to defend her title at the National Bank Open, which begins next month in Montreal. The event, formerly known as the Rogers Cup, wasn't held in 2020.
While Andreescu's confident in her hard-court play and feels she can bounce back on home soil, she doesn't want to put too much pressure on herself.
"The past couple months have been pretty tough ... but I'm not always gonna win and I have to look at that reality," she said. "I have to go through other things to find my way to the top again."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2021.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.