A big win can leave an impression on the tennis world, the way Shapovalov’s win over Rafael Nadal at the Rogers Cup managed a few summers back. At the time, John McEnroe predicted there would be a major in Shapovalov’s future.

McEnroe didn’t comment on Andreescu’s win, but both Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova did.

“Every time we thought, ‘This is it, she doesn’t have the game or she doesn’t have the belief or the legs,’ she just kept proving us wrong,” said Navratilova on British television.

“It was a coming-of-age tournament. Bianca really came out of nowhere and she deserved to win. She played amazing tennis. This one is here to stay. I’m looking forward to seeing her develop into an even better tennis player.”

Said Evert: “What really impressed me here was when she called her coach to come down.

“She said, ‘I’m exhausted,’ but then said, ‘I really want to win this badly.’ I’ve never heard a women’s player say that to a coach before.”

Andreescu was ready to quit, physically beaten up, feet in pain, and somehow she wouldn’t allow herself to succumb.

“I won’t forget that,” Evert said.

Read more at: https://vancouversun.com/sports/tennis/simmons-navratilova-and-evert-big-believers-in-mississaugas-bianca-andreescu/wcm/fa80da34-6a7f-4cfd-b4e4-292040e5d15b

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu’s Indian Wells triumph was not shown on television in her home country but that did not dampen the excitement across a nation where the future of women’s tennis is suddenly looking as bright as ever.

Andreescu enjoyed an unprecedented run in the California desert where the 18-year-old became the first wildcard to win the prestigious event that is widely regarded as the biggest tennis tournament outside of the four Grand Slams.

“A STAR IS BORN” screamed the front-page

headline of The Toronto Star on Monday above a picture of a grinning Andreescu with her eyes closed and arms around the winner’s trophy.

The Candian first made waves in January when she beat former world number ones Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams on consecutive nights in a tune-up event for the Australian Open.

But Andreescu took her game to another level in California where her Cinderella run included wins over five seeded players, including former world number one and three-times Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber in Sunday’s final.

The match, however, was not shown on TV in her homeland and many Canadians took to social media to blast the country’s all-sports networks for not securing broadcast rights to the event.

After becoming the first Canadian to win a WTA Premier Mandatory tournament, Andreescu reflected on the journey she took to reach the biggest moment of her career.

“A year ago, during this period, I had been struggling a lot with my tennis and with my body, too. So it’s crazy what a year can do,” Andreescu told reporters after her 6-4 3-6 6-4 win.

“I was playing 25Ks in Japan,” she said, referring to the WTA’s second-tier tournaments, “and now I’m the… champion of Indian Wells. It’s crazy. Crazy is the word of the tournament for me. Just crazy.”

HIGH RANKING

The victory vaulted Andreescu to a dizzyingly high ranking of 24th in the world, up 128 places since last December. It is even more remarkable considering she entered 2019 with a now-laughable goal of cracking the top 100 by year’s end.

Andreescu’s triumph even caught the attention of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who posted a congratulatory note on his Twitter account which she responded to by saying it is an honor to play for Canada.

The sudden flood of attention being directed at Andreescu is reminiscent of that given to other Canadians when they burst onto the tennis scene in recent years, including former women’s world number five Eugenie Bouchard and men’s No. 3 Milos Raonic.

Andreescu, brimming with confidence, will now face questions at every turn about whether she has what it takes to become the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title.

For her part the teenager, who is scheduled to get right back to work this week at the Miami Open, is not about to put any added pressure on herself.

“Like I said before, you never know what next week can bring. Maybe I’ll have a bad day. Maybe my opponent will play unbelievable,” said Andreescu.

“But if I go out there and play my best, then I have no pressure. I think the only pressure that comes to me is the pressure I put on myself. I try not to think about the press, the fans, and anything.”

Read more at: https://sports.yahoo.com/tennis-andreescu-emerges-canadas-next-great-hope-grand-181452492–ten.html

According to ESPN, the list is based on three major factors – endorsement, search score and social media followers.

The figures obtained for the endorsements range from both ESPN and Forbes, with the search score measured on how often their name was searched into Google and taking an average of their peak score.

While the social following they claim is taken from their most popular social media account.

1 – Cristiano Ronaldo – endorsements: $52.2m – search score – 100 – social media following – 148m

2 – LeBron James – endorsements: $73.4m – search score: 47 – social media following: 45.3m

3 – Lionel Messi – endorsements: $39.4m – search score: 54 – social media following: 103.1m

4 – Neymar – endorsements: $27.2m – search score: 55 – social media following: 107.2m

5 – Conor McGregor – endorsements: $21m – search score: 100 – social media following: 29.7m

6- Roger Federer – endorsements: $58.5m – search score: 23 – social media following: 14.5m

7 – Virat Kohli – endorsements: $28.1m – search score: 25 – social media following: 37.1m

8 – Rafael Nadal – endorsements: $41.3m – search score: 40 – social media following: 15.6m

9 – Stephen Curry – endorsements: $59.3m – search score: 12 – social media following: 23m

10 – Tiger Woods – endorsements: $59.3m – search score: 20 – social media following: 6.4m

Read more at: https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/ronaldo-messi-mcgregor-espn-announce-2019s-top-20-most-famous-athletes/news-story/96ca5bfd68f969fbde5f7f29fb46ce74

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Bianca Andreescu upset three-time major champion Angelique Kerber 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to win the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday, becoming at age 18 the first wild-card winner in tournament history.

The Canadian overcame nerves, arm and leg issues in the final set to earn the first title of her fledgling career.

She was a crowd favorite, with fans waving Canadian flags and chanting “Let’s go, Bianca! Let’s go” in the second set.

They clearly enjoyed Andreescu’s fearless style of play. She alternately outpunched opponents from the baseline, tossed up moonballs and unleashed well-time drop shots — usually during the same point.

#Canadians are going to win, win, win in 2019

Read more at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/tennis/oh-canada-teen-andreescu-upsets-kerber-to-win-indian-wells/2019/03/17/b524abf0-4905-11e9-8cfc-2c5d0999c21e_story.html?utm_term=.9b57b6e73915

When you play a balletic brand of tennis; when you waltz off Wimbledon’s Centre Court, trophy in hand and not a hair out of place; when you parlez-vous with reporters in five languages; when you amass 100 career titles, including 20 majors, folks begin to throw around the ‘P’ word.

Perfection.

However, Roger Federer, now 37 and in many minds the sport’s true GOAT, denies such a concept is attainable.

“People always elevate superstar athletes to superman status, like we’re superhuman,” said Federer, who’ll embark on his 18^th BNP Paribas Open this week. “Then you get to meet us and you realize, ‘He’s just another normal guy. It just so happens he does great in what he does.’ I don’t see myself like that. Being perfect doesn’t exist. Everybody has their flaws. So do I. If I can make the game more popular, I can be good for fans, that’s great.”

“Most important for any athlete is understanding your own body,” he added. “What is pain and what is injury pain? What could result in an injury? Being able to play through that many times is going to happen. Sometimes being sick as well. But also knowing when to step off the gas and give yourself a break. At the end of the day, you need to have smart people around yourself that educate you in that way. And you have to buy into that idea.”

Read more at: https://bnpparibasopen.com/news/federer-being-perfect-doesnt-exist/

Professional tennis players move through yoga poses on the giant lawn in California desert sunshine as Frisbees float overhead. This greenspace sits adjacent to 20 practice courts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, site of the BNP Paribas Open. And fans can watch it all from the 3,000 seats surrounding the practice courts.

Experiences like this, both for the players and the fans, give Indian Wells a unique position in the tennis calendar and create a singular experience that continues to draw roughly 450,000 fans for the two-week event, while earning rave reviews from both the ATP and WTA players who have both voted the tournament the best on tour every year for the last five years. Sponsors, of course, love it all, renewing and growing each year.

Read more at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timnewcomb/2019/03/06/indian-wells-growing-a-singular-tennis-experience/#5b3d942b38f9

when it comes to really shaking up men’s tennis, Kyrgios is peerless.

Tennis has become so professional with such a high bar set in terms of skill, fitness and sportsmanship, that a genuine maverick who gears up for a final by roaring around in the Pacific surf should have no chance.

But Kyrgios, described by none other than American former No. 1 John McEnroe as the greatest talent he has seen in the last 10 years, is doing his best to disprove that theory.

Arriving coach-less and ranked 72nd in the world, the 23-year-old Australian blazed through the draw, taking out Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka and John Isner in three-set epics before outclassing Zverev 6-3 6-4 to claim his fifth career title.

On the way, he clashed with umpires and fans, played shots others cannot even dream of and angered 17-time Grand Slam champion Nadal.

Read more at: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/03/04/more-sports/tennis/nick-kyrgios-shaking-tennis-world/#.XH5nk5DruUk