WASHINGTON - US Open champion Bianca Andreescu became the first tennis player to win Canada's athlete of the year award on Monday.

The title is awarded each year to Canada's top athlete, and Andreescu, 19, put together a strong case throughout her revelatory 2019 season, during which she won her first WTA title at the BNP Paribas Open - a Premier Mandatory tournament - and her second at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, a Premier 5 event that Andreescu grew up attending.

The youngster later became the first from her country to win a Grand Slam singles title in the US Open, where she upset 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the final.

Andreescu was nominated alongside compatriots Brooke Henderson (golf), Jordan Binnington (ice hockey), Andre De Grasse (sprinter) and Mike Soroka (baseball).