In life, there's nothing like a grand entrance. In tennis, they are even rarer—and more dazzling—which is what makes Bianca Andreescu's stunning run at this year's US Open so remarkable.
It's been a good year for teenagers on the WTA Tour, but Andreescu's first crack at the US Open is not just good—it's mind-blowing.
The 19-year-old Canadian hasn't just become the first teenager to reach the semifinals since 2009, she's also become the fourth US Open debutante to reach the last four in Open Era History.
The public is captivated by the charismatic teenager who practices meditation during her free time and hasn't lost a completed match since March 1st. But given that she's been running the table since Indian Wells, should we be surprised by the Canadian's run?
Pam Shriver, who reached the US Open final on her main draw debut in 1978, doesn't think so.
"A lot of people picked her as one of their favorites to win," she tells USOpen.org. "The way she won Indian Wells, the way she won the Rogers Cup—she's a proven big-match player. I don't think any of us are stunned that she's in the semis with a pretty good chance to reach the final."
Shriver remembers what it was like to burst onto the scene and make a huge splash in New York City. Seven years after Chris Evert set the record for best US Open debut by reaching the US Open semifinals in 1971, Shriver set the bar one higher by storming to the final, beating Martina Navratilova in the semis.
"Round by round by round, I just kept winning and it really wasn't sensational until I beat Martina in the semis," she said. "Martina had won Wimbledon and she was No.1 in the world and that was probably, in that year, the biggest upset in major tennis."
Shriver made her magic in the US Open's first year at its new site in Queens, in the old Louis Armstrong Stadium. She remembers the dramatic effect success as a 16-year-old had on her life at the time.
"It felt like a big deal to a little old 16-year-old about to start my senior year in high school," Shriver says. "I remember, afterwards, my parents said, 'Okay, it's [time to] return to normal, get back to school—no more interviews.' I remember People magazine knocked on my door and my mom got really mad."
Nearly 20 years later, Venus Williams became the third player to reach at least the semifinals on her Open debut in 1997. Then 17, Williams defeated Irina Spirlea in the semis before falling in straight sets to Martina Hingis in the final. Shriver and Williams share the honor of being the only two players to have reached the US Open final on their main draw debut.
"I wasn't all that stunned," said Shriver, who was Williams' mentor at the time.
But Shriver, who lost to Evert in the final in 1978, says that Williams went into her final against Hingis a little star-struck in '97. She believes that Andreescu will have a better chance if she reaches the final because the Canadian is riding such a high.
"I feel like the great ones who are groomed to be champions, they expect to win," she says.
Best US Open Women’s Singles Debuts, Open Era
Chris Evert, 1971, Semifinals, lost to Billie Jean King
Pam Shriver, 1978, final, lost to Evert
Venus Williams, 1997, final, lost to Hingis
Bianca Andreescu, 2019, semifinals, faces Bencic
Andreescu certainly has proven to be a quick study at the Grand Slam level. She is playing in her fourth Grand Slam main draw this year, in New York. Only one player in WTA history has managed to win a Grand Slam title with less than five appearances at a major: Monica Seles, who won Roland Garros in 1990, also in her fourth appearance at a major.
Only five players in WTA Open Era history—Shriver, Evert, Williams, Seles and Natasha Zvereva—have reached the final of a major with less than five major appearances under their belt.
If Andreescu defeats Belinda Bencic on Thursday evening in New York, she'll join some lofty company. If she can go all the way in New York, expect her world to go bonkers. There's a reason not a single player has claimed the trophy on her US Open debut. It's an extremely difficult task to accomplish. Some might say impossible. But that could change in three days' time.
"Winning a major at 19, she'd be an instant top-level star in the game," Shriver says. "She already has a lot of eyes on her now, but it would be next-level."
