Newly crowned US Open champion Bianca Andreescu has stated that she is aiming to win ‘many grand slams’ after her historic triumph in New York on Saturday.
The 19-year-old downed Serena Williams in straight sets to become the first ever Canadian player in history to win a singles title at any major tournament. Within the past month she has cracked the top 20 for the first time of her career before rising to a current best of fifth in the world. The join-highest ranking ever achieved by a Canadian woman alongside Eugenie Bouchard.
Andreescu has now shot to the limelight with a surge of interest from both tennis fans and endorsements. Her clash with Williams was the most watched live tennis match in her home country of all time for networks TSN and RDS. Elevating her to a level of fame she would have never anticipated 12 months ago. Not that she is letting it get to her.
There’s always going to be external pressure, I’m sure Canada wants me to do really well and most importantly I want to do really well. So I think that pressure helps me.” Andreescu said during a press conference hosted by Tennis Canada on Wednesday.
It is hoped that the achievements of the teenager will help trigger another surge in the popularity of tennis in the North American country. In recent years Tennis Canada has managed to produce a group of promising stars, which also include Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime. Two of the youngest players currently in the top 100 on the men’s tour.
The prospect of Andreescu playing a key role in promoting her sport is one she is relishing. In recent days she has received numerous messages from members of the public who have said they have been inspired by her. According to data provided by Social Blade, Andreescu’s Twitter followers have risen from 71,000 to more than 166,000 since winning the US Open on Saturday.
“One of my goals was to be able to be an inspiration to many people. I think I’m starting to do that, which means a lot to me.” She said.
“If I step on the court and show a good example, I think it can drive a lot of people to pick up a racket.’
“I’ve been getting some messages from people saying that they have never watched tennis before but now they will. I’ve gotten some (messages) where they said they were starting to play tennis because of me. That’s amazing. I’m really humbled.”
The next step
Now a grand slam champion, the world No.5 now has to live up to the hype generated. A similar scenario to what Naomi Osaka faced this time last year. However, Andreescu has already proven her credentials. Earlier in the year she won titles in Indian Wells and at the Rogers Cup. Furthermore, she is eight out of eight when playing top 10 players. The only thing that seems to be slowing her down is her own body. During 2019 she missed a few months of the tour due to a shoulder injury. Should she manage to avoid any misfortunes like that in the future, the skies the limit.
“I think if I’m healthy I can do even bigger things in this sport.” She stated.
“One of an athletes biggest enemies is injuries because we’re sitting on our butts watching others play and we don’t like that.’
“So I think the main goal right now is to stay as healthy as I can because I’ve been injured quite a bit in my short career.”
One event she has set eyes on is the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo next year. Only two players from Canada have ever won a medal in tennis at the games. That was Sebastian Lareau and Daniel Nestor, who won the men’s doubles title back in 2000.
“I’ve been thinking about playing in the Olympics for a couple of years. I think it is a very special event. You get to be a part of a team and I think it is different to any other tournaments on the tour. If I do get to play that it would be pretty awesome.”
Besides Andreescu’s desire to conquer the world of tennis, she admits that there is a long way to go when it comes to her game. Her goal for the rest of the season will be to qualify for the WTA Finals, which has moved to Shenzhen this year. The season-ending event will have a record prize money pool of $14 million.
“There’s always room for improvement in anything so I’m just gonna keep improving my game.” The rising star explained.
“I know it’s been working pretty well for me so far so I’m definitely going to improve that. The shot-selection part will be an emphasis and I will keep doing what I do on the mental side.’
“Get stronger physically as much as I can, which is a crucial part of this game. But it’s not easy.”
Andreescu is targeting a return to competition at the China Open. The Premier event will get underway on September 30th.
