Bianca Andreescu, a 19 year old from Mississauga, Canada, won her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open after being ranked outside the top 150 at the start of the season. Andreescu won with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Serena Williams which denied Williams her 24th Grand Slam win where she would have tied Margaret Court’s record of 24 major singles titles.
Winning the U.S. Open was not only a big achievement for Andreescu, but also for Canada. Her win over Serena Williams gave Canada its first Grand Slam singles title. Andreescu is also the first Canadian, and the first player born in the 2000s, to win a Grand Slam singles title. “It’s so crazy, man. I’ve been dreaming of this moment for the longest time,” Andreescu stated in a post match interview.
Andreescu’s rise to fame and success hasn’t been as smooth as you would expect for a 19 year old. She was ranked outside of the top 150 when the season began and did not qualify for the U.S. Open the past two years after losing in the first round of qualifiers. She also suffered an injury in 2018 that set her back from playing at her best, but she persevered and had her eyes set on winning a Grand Slam title. She has not lost a completed match since March 1st, 2019.
On Saturday, Andreescu completely put her game together and made bold shots that shocked the crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City. The energetic New York crowd was boisterous during the match, cheering at the top of their lungs every time Williams was able to rally back a point in the second set. “I know you guys wanted Serena to win, so I’m so sorry. Obviously it was expected for Serena to fight back. She’s done that so many times in the past.
That’s why she’s a true champion on and off the court, but I just tried my best to block everything out,” Andreescu said to the crowd. Andreescu was able to use her own strength to push through and is on track to become one of the best women’s tennis players of our generation after winning a Grand Slam at a young age.
Andreescu now sits at 5th in the world tennis rankings after her U.S. Open victory. After winning the U.S. Open at 19, the only place to go from here is up. Over the next few weeks, Andreescu will continue training in hopes to return to the court later this month to compete in the Beijing Open but will never forget her historic victory in New York City.