Why Simona Halep is so excited to play with Bianca Andreescu in Shenzhen

Halep and Andreescu will play each other for the first time at the WTA Finals.

Andreescu Halep

The WTA finals begin on Sunday. The city of Shenzhen will host the tournament from 2019 up to 2028. This year’s tournament will feature the largest amount in prize money for a singles player in tennis history. The competition will also see some players play each other for the first time.

Bianca’s father and father are both from Romania

Simona Halep and Bianca Andreescu will take on each other for the first time in their careers. Halep was one of the world No.4’s idols when she was growing up. The Canadian player has Romanian roots. Her parents, Nicu and Maria, moved to Canada from Romania before she was born. The current world No.5 is one of the best tennis players Romania has produced in some time as she has won two Grand Slam titles. Her most recent Grand Slam win was at this year’s Wimbledon. Halep has held the number one position on the WTA rankings twice in her career.

Halep and Andreescu

With both of their fathers having Romanian heritage, Bianca looked up to Halep while growing up. The 19-year-old met the two-time Grand Slam champion in 2016 and asked for some tennis advice. Simona was glad to help the young Canadian who was still playing in the junior championships. Since she turned professional, Andreescu has enjoyed some major success. The Canadian has enjoyed a break out year, winning three titles. Her greatest win was at the US Open against another of her idols, Serena Williams. She will now play Halep for the first time this week. The 2018 French Open winner is looking forward to the match. The Romanian said it would be a challenge to play Bianca who has been in good form this year. However, she is proud of what the 19-year-old has achieved early in her career.

Simona commented:

“It’s amazing what she has done. To win a grand slam at 19, play few tournaments and win them, it’s a great, great job. I just want to tell her that she deserved it because she played really well these tournaments.

I’m excited also to face her. It’s going to be a big challenge for me because this year was up and down a lot. I just have a very big up during the Wimbledon, and the rest was not that great.I’m not thinking about winning or losing here. I just want to be able to play the matches.”

Halep going for the record-breaking prize money

The two players will play in the opening match of their group on Monday. Halep and Andreescu are in the Purple group alongside Karolina Pliskova and Elina Svitolina. The other group is the Red Group which has Ashleigh Barty, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova, and Belinda Bencic. The players will play in a round-robin format with the top two from each group proceeding to the semifinals. Halep has played in the WTA Finals five times. She reached the final of the tournament in 2014 but lost to Serena. This year’s competition will have the largest prize money in tennis history. The champion could walk away with $4.725 million dollars if she goes through the tournament unbeaten.

Simona Halep’s ranking and performance in 2019

Simona Halep Stats info

Ranked no.5, Halep played her last match on the 30th of September when she surrendered to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2 6-3 in the 2nd round in Beijing.

This year Halep has a 38-15 win-loss record. Simona has won 1 title in Wimbledon. Simona was the finalist in Doha and in Madrid.

Bianca Vanessa Andreescu’s ranking and performance in 2019

Bianca Vanessa Andreescu Stats info

Ranked no.4 (career-high), Andreescu played her last match on the 4th of October when she surrendered to Naomi Osaka 5-7 6-3 6-4 in the quarter in Beijing.

This year Andreescu has a 46-5 win-loss record. Bianca Vanessa conquered 4 titles in 2019 in the Newport Beach, in Indian Wells, in Toronto and at the U.S. Open. The Canadian was the finalist in Auckland.

Simona Halep and Bianca Vanessa Andreescu have never played each other.

Having a selfie?

Embed from Getty Images

View this post on Instagram

happy happy

A post shared by Bianca (@biancaandreescu_) on

View this post on Instagram

… to you ! #unforgettableday #special #madeit

A post shared by Simona Halep (@simonahalep) on