‘Hopefully I Can Build a Relationship With Her’- Bianca Andreescu Says Serena Williams Came to Her in the Locker Room After US Open Finals

Following her first-round exit at Wimbledon, fans were hoping to see Serena Williams avenge her loss at the US Open and build upon it next year. However, yesterday, the 10th of August, Serena shook the entire world, announcing her retirement from women’s tennis after the US Open.

Ever since the announcement, the tennis world has become an open floor of opinions about the legendary American. Adding to it is the 2019 US Open champion, Bianca Andreescu. Playing at the Rogers Cup, the Canadian sensation reacted to Serena’s retirement, recalling her moments with the 23-time Grand Slam champion.

Bianca Andreescu walks back to her clashes with Serena Williams

Looking at the stats, Andreescu is one of the few players who lead the head-to-head race against Serena. With Serena being forced to retire mid match due to injury, the Canadian sensation had her first win over the American in the finals of the 2019 Rogers Cup. Weeks later, Andreescu outplayed Serena in the finals of the 2019 US Open.

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Even though Serena suffered two back-to-back losses, she didn’t shy away from walking to Andreescu, offering her kind words. Recalliang the meeting, Andreescu said, “…she did come up to me after the US Open match and she said some very kind words. Like I said before, that’s kind of like how we connected. And even after the Rogers Cup match we had a nice conversation going. Hopefully I can build a relationship with her…”

Andreescu outplayed Serena on multiple occasions. However, an unignorable fact is that she is also amongst the handful of young generation players who got the opportunity to share the court with Serena Williams. Cherishing the fact, Bianca said, “I feel honored to have gotten that opportunity to play her and even connect with her in some way.”

Bianca Andreescu on Serena’s retirement announcement

Similar to the entire tennis world, Serena’s retirement announcement also came as a shock to Andreescu. Detailing her time of learning about the announcement, she said, “I was absolutely shocked. Because I just woke up and I get that and I’m like, What?”

Entities like Serena often have a massive fan base. A fan base that hopes to see their player playing forever. Being a part of the same fan base, the 22-year-old further added, “You know that at one point she’s going to retire. But when she actually, you know, is going to announce it, it’s just shocking. Because you think these kinds of players will play forever. I mean I think she’s 40 now?”

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Addressing her contribution to the game and society, Bianca asserted, “She has done a lot. She has, first of all, she’s accomplished a lot. So that’s an inspiration for so many. She’s not afraid to be herself and to show all her emotions on the court, off the court, what she stands for.”

While Andreescu showered her love for Serena, it cannot be ignored that the two remain competitors on the court. Playing at the Rogers Cup, the two are currently in the second round. Being in the top half, the two could potentially face each other in the semifinals.