Dear Gossips,
Here in Canada, we have a new favourite hashtag. It’s not a new hashtag, but it’s been repurposed, slightly: #SheTheNorth
“She” would be Bianca Andreescu, now the first Canadian to advance to the finals of the US Open!
Bianca is 19 years old, the first teenager to make the US Open finals since 2009. This is her breakout season, not an exaggeration. She’s been winning, yeah, but she’s also playing in her first US Open, like Pam Shriver actually said to her during the on court post-game interview that she hadn’t heard of her a year ago – and she made the final!
Because she is a fighter. People talk so much about Rafael Nadal’s game, how he never f-cking quits, how that can be so annoying for players because … he will not f-cking quit. That’s Bianca too, coming back last night to win the first set in a tiebreak and coming back again in the second after being down two breaks.
Saturday’s final, then, could be one we’ll remember for a long, long time. The match is scheduled for 4pm ET. By the time it’s done, it’ll be primetime, the weekend, here in Toronto, Bianca’s hometown. The city will already be buzzing because it’s TIFF and there are major premieres that night (including Hustlers), downtown will be hype as it is. I wonder if it’ll pop off if Bianca wins.
Against Serena Williams, the Greatest Of All Time!
Serena won her first grand slam singles title in 1999, at the US Open. That was 20 years ago and Bianca hadn’t been born. So please, no matter who you’re cheering for, can we please remember that after two decades, Serena Williams is not only still playing, she’s playing in the FINAL. She’s playing for the title. This is the highest degree of difficulty, and we may never see excellence at this level again!
#SheTheNorth and #SheTheGOAT
Have a great weekend!
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
