Seventeen-year-old Thea Frodin will make her US Open main-draw debut and face world number two Elena Rybakina, a confrontation that immediately elevates the match into the biggest of her career. The Swede, ranked 580th, secured entry by winning the USTA Girls' 18s National Championships, the same route Venus Williams used to reach the tournament this year.
Frodin arrives on the back of a strong junior season, which included a semi-final at the Australian Open girls' singles and a run to the Wimbledon girls' doubles final with Julieta Pareja in 2025. Those results established her as one of the more talked-about teenagers on the circuit, and the wildcard turns tournament speculation into a live test against elite opposition.
Her profile extends beyond junior results. At 12 she worked as a tennis-playing body double on the Oscar-nominated film King Richard, appearing on set with Will Smith in scenes that recreated Serena Williams' early years. "Being able to play the role of somebody that I looked up to for my whole life was super special," she told the WTA website. "I was honoured. She was one of the players that I looked up to most, just when I was starting to play. She's such an inspiration to me."
Frodin said the shooting stretched over six months and affected her technique. "After I was done shooting, I got used to her strokes," she told the US Open website. "My coaches were a bit frustrated because I naturally started to hit like her. I picked up Serena's backhand, but I tried as much as possible to go back to my strokes." She also recalled Will Smith bringing hot water to shoots to keep her warm on cold, rainy days.
The draw pairs her with Rybakina, a two-time major champion and the reigning Australian Open winner, offering an unforgiving benchmark of the gap between junior promise and senior success. Frodin has framed her mental approach around presence and enjoyment. "I'm trying to stay in the moment as much as possible," she said. "This is a huge opportunity for me to enjoy the moment, have fun and see what I can do. The atmosphere, how loud the crowd will be, I feel like I fit well in that environment."
Her WTA qualifying debut in Miami showed she can trouble established players; she pushed former world number 35 Viktorija Golubic to three sets in their first meeting. Tuesday will mark a new threshold, when she walks out for her first main-draw Grand Slam singles match and measures herself against a top-two opponent under the lights.
Beyond performance, Frodin hopes the fortnight produces a personal milestone. She has never met Serena or Venus Williams, and said meeting or hitting with them at the tournament would be "incredible" and "a dream." For now the immediate task is clear, perform on the biggest stage she has faced and see how quickly she adapts to elite-level pressure.
