Thea Frodin Draws Elena Rybakina in US Open Main-Draw Debut

Thea Frodin will step into the US Open Grandstand on Tuesday for the first WTA Tour main-draw match of her career, with the 17-year-old American drawn against No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina in New York.

Frodin faces Rybakina in first tour main draw

The Woodland Hills native, who trains full-time in Nashville, earned her wild card by winning the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships singles crown two weeks ago. Her place in the draw guarantees $140,000, with a much larger opportunity waiting against the reigning Australian Open champion.

Frodin, ranked No. 585, and Rybakina are scheduled for 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday on the Grandstand court. It will be the teenager’s first match in a WTA Tour main draw.

Her only previous tour-level appearance came in Miami qualifying this season, where Viktorija Golubic beat her in the opening round. Frodin also reached the Australian Open girls’ semifinals earlier this year.

Rather than treating the occasion as a reason to tighten up, Frodin said she is embracing the scale of the assignment. She described the feeling as excitement rather than nerves, saying she wants to enjoy the crowd, the noise and the chance to test herself on a major stage.

Rybakina injury watch

Rybakina arrives as one of the toughest opponents in the women’s draw and could leave New York as World No. 1 for the first time. The Kazakh suffered a left-ankle injury in Cincinnati 10 days before the US Open, but said after practising on Saturday that she believed the issue was likely fine.

Even with that recent concern, Frodin knows the task awaiting her against a player who has just won the season’s latest hard-court major.

From King Richard set to the Grandstand

Frodin has already experienced a very different form of public performance. At 12, she served as Serena Williams’ tennis double in the Oscar-winning film King Richard.

She landed the part after claiming singles, doubles and mixed doubles at a California sectional event for 10-and-under players. The production asked her to audition, then selected her to reproduce the younger Serena’s tennis movements on camera.

Frodin spent several days a week on set across six months. She also filmed some dramatic scenes opposite Will Smith, who played Richard Williams and later won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Frodin recalled Smith as welcoming and supportive, including offering practical advice between takes during a scene filmed in artificial rain.

She has not yet met Serena or Venus Williams, despite portraying Serena’s on-court double. With both sisters competing at this US Open, Frodin hopes that changes during the tournament.

Serena Williams has long been one of Frodin’s tennis idols, and the wild-card recipient called the chance to play that role a special honour. Now, after her junior national title opened the door to Flushing Meadows, Frodin has a live Grand Slam stage of her own.