It’s difficult to peel your eyes off the tennis court at the 2019 U.S. Open as Canadian star, 19-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu, goes up in the finals against one of the greatest players of all time, Serena Williams, but once viewers catch a look at Andreescu’s mother, Maria, you almost don’t want the camera the move.
Bianca, who her first Grand Slam title on Saturday, and watching in the stands at Arthur Ashe stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York, her parents Nicu and Maria Andreescu, the latter of whom is becoming a celebrity in her own right. The attention Maria is garnering for merely existing is something which doesn’t surprise her only daughter in the least. “She’s the coolest person I know,” Bianca said of her mother, who sits court side rocking over-sized black sunglasses at night, drapes herself in a Louis Vuitton scarf, or large Versace style prints, and usually holding onto the family’s adorable poodle, Coco.
While extremely stylish, Maria and Nico are not your over-eager stage parents in the stands. The Romanian immigrants remain stoic, silent, and calm under pressure, much like their daughter, who’s defeated a series of players under the national spotlight to get this far in the U.S. Open, including Belgium’s Elise Mertens, and Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic.
Bianca said of her parents, “Hopefully soon, I’ll start making enough money that they can travel with me. I’d definitely love that. I can remember watching other Canadians make their big breakouts and saying, ‘Hey Mom, when is it going to happen for me?’ I know not every day is going to be rainbows and butterflies like this. There are ups and downs; that’s part of tennis. But I’m up for the challenge.”
Maria Andreescu Is a Boss
As she watches her daughter sky-rocket in the world tennis rankings, Maria may look like a cast member of The Real Housewives franchise, but there’s much to her than initially meets the eye. A graduate from the University of Craiova in Romania, she earned an MBA in financial management, and works as a compliance officer for an investment firm in Toronto. Her husband Nico graduated from Technical University of Brasov with a B.S. in mechanical engineering, and has worked as an auto engineer at Matcor Automotive Inc since they moved to Canada in 1996.
“We arrived in Canada with two suitcases and that’s all,” Nicu told the Globe and Mail. “We had a great first impression when we arrived, having come from a former communist country. We wanted to go to Canada and start a new life and have a better future for any kids we might have.”
Nicu and Maria had Bianca on June 15, 2000, and while the mother and daughter briefly returned to Romania so Maria could run a trucking business, they returned to Canada permanently a few years later.
Bianca Gets It From Her Mama
Bianca and Maria are two incredibly stylish women who share an extremely close relationship based on love and admiration. Maria’s entire Twitter and Instagram is dedicated to her daughter’s accomplishments, which Bianca praises her mother in interviews and online, and credits Maria for teaching her how to meditate under pressure.
Maria also supported Bianca when she decided to forgo attending college and turn pro. She said of her daughter, who did all of her high school studies online, “We knew exactly what she wanted, and we never had doubts about it. As a mother, I had that feeling that never lies to you. I know her. I know her passion and her work ethic.”
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