Mississauga's Bianca Andreescu has won the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s athlete of the year.
In doing so, the 19-year-old, who became Canada’s first Grand Slam singles champion with an upset of Serena Williams in the U.S. Open final, also becomes the first tennis player to be awarded the prestigious award. The vote among a panel of Canadian sports media members was unanimous.
Every December, the Lou Marsh is given to Canada’s top athlete from professional or amateur ranks, man or woman, in any sport. The short list voted on by the panel is compiled from a group of approximately 20 athletes.
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Andreescu, the most famous athlete from Mississauga, started this year's tennis tour ranked 152nd in the world. She was ranked as high as fourth at one point. That's the highest ranking for a Canadian in the history of the Women’s Tennis Association rankings. She finished the season ranked fifth overall.
She also won the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. and the Rogers Cup in Toronto.
Andreescu's win here in Toronto made her the first Canadian woman in 50 years to win the national tournament. It helped rocket her up the rankings, where she finished the season fifth overall.
Her 2019 season included a 48-7 record with injury retirements, over $6.5 million US in winnings, a 17-match win streak, and an 8-0 record against players ranked in the top 10.
Last year’s Lou Marsh winner was freestyle skier Mikael Kingsbury.
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Often referred to as She The North, Andreescu was feted by the City of Mississauga at a welcome home rally in September at Mississauga Celebration Square.
Andreescu started playing tennis in Romania. After the family moved to Canada she started training at the Ontario Racquet Club in Mississauga. She currently lives in Vaughan and attended Bill Crothers Secondary School in Markham.
In an interview earlier this year with insauga.com, Andreescu foretold her year: "I want to become number 1 in the world and I want to win as many grand slams as I can. I want to make history and be an inspiration to a lot of people and do a lot for the sport and women's tennis and women's sports in general. I also want to improve as a tennis player and a person."
