After the way 2019 has gone for world No. 4 Bianca Andreescu, it might be hard to imagine that less than 12 months ago, she was trying to work her way up the rankings on the ITF circuit.

Who could’ve known that she was going to leave that grind behind so rapidly?

Now, even though she dropped her opener at the WTA Finals against one of her idols, Simona Halep, it’s looking more and more like the 19-year-old might be a future top seed at the tournament that features the best in the business.

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Was 2019 a teenage
dream? Not for 
Andreescu

Was 2019 a teenage dream? Not for Andreescu

She finished last year on a high note, by winning an ITF event and kicked off 2019 in near-perfect fashion by qualifying and reaching her first WTA Tour final in Auckland, New Zealand. A great result, but the caliber of players she knocked off along the way—namely Grand Slam champs Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams—might have been more impressive.

Working her way into the Top 100 right before the Premier Mandatory stretch of tournaments in Indian Wells, Calif., and Miami, Andreescu won her first career singles title at the former, topping yet another major winner, Angelique Kerber, in the final.

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She won a few more matches in Miami to solidify her place in the top 25, but then an elbow injury gave her problems for months, forcing her to the sidelines for a good chunk of time.

Surely the train of thought around Andreescu was that she’s so young, she has plenty of time to get back on track: Perhaps next year she’ll be back in the mix.

However, the Canadian decided her time is now.

Playing only her second tournament in a five-month span, Andreescu won her “home” event in Toronto, knocking off top-fivers Kiki Bertens and Karolina Pliskova on her way to the final where she’d face another idol, Serena Williams. The American was forced to retire from the match early on, but they’d meet a few weeks later in New York—and this time, there’d be no question about the eventual outcome.

Andreescu made a remarkable run to the US Open title to become the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam in singles as she defeated Williams in straight sets in the final. The result also lifted her into the top 10 for the first time.

She only played one event prior to the WTA Finals, the China Open, where she lost to last year’s breakout star, Naomi Osaka. She’s been all over the place, though, from basketball games to talk shows and more, which is only befitting of a young Grand Slam champion.

Andreescu is no flash in the pan, though. She’s here for the long haul, and given how quickly her ascent has been, it’ll be intriguing to see what happens over the next 12 months.

Follow Van on Twitter: @Van_Sias