Ahead of Rabat return, Bianca Andreescu visits the Historic Grand Prix of Monaco

She's startin', in more ways than one! Ahead of her return to competition at the ucoming WTA 250 event in Rabat, Morocco next week, 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu satisfied her competitive itch by visiting the Historic Grand Prix of Monaco.

"First time attending a Grand Prix event and it was so exciting," Andreescu wrote on social media, sharing a reel of her enjoying the event at the invitation of the Automobile Club de Monaco. The Historic Grand Prix of Monaco is held two weeks before the Monaco Grand Prix every two years since 1997.

Andreescu, now 23 years old, hasn't competed since last August, with a back injury the latest in a line of physical maladies to affect her since her crowning moment in New York five summers ago. But the Canadian has been posting photos and videos of herself training in Monte Carlo in preparation for a clay-court return, and teased a comeback ahead of Roland Garros in a Q&A with fans on Instagram last month.

Andreescu hasn't been too far away from the tour in her time off. This spring, she visited events at Indian Wells (which she also won in 2019) and Miami, and recently told the *Match Point Canada *tennis podcast that she's been training for three months in preparation for her return.

"[It's] definitely the longest pre-season I've had," she said. "I feel like every time I've been injured, I keep saying that I've had a long pre-season as my longest pre-season but this one has topped them all. I mean, three months is crazy."

Andreescu also said that one of her goals for her abridged 2024 season is representing Canada at the Paris Olympics in August. She qualified by ranking to play in the Tokyo Olympics, but made the "difficult decision" at the time in 2021 to withdraw due to challenges posed by the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.

"[The Olympics], it's been my goal ever since I was a little girl," Andreescu told the podcast. "If I can be up on that stage, whether I win or lose, obviously, I want to win, but just raising up that Canadian flag and representing my country will mean the world to me."

Andreescu entered both Rabat and Roland Garros with a protected ranking of No. 64. She reached the third round in Paris last year.