The ball is in her courtroom now.
Thea Frodin is ready to make her Grand Slam main-draw debut on the 2026 US Open on Tuesday — 5 years after performing as Serena Williams’ physique double within the “King Richard” biopic.
The 17-year-old will enter the match as a wildcard, taking part in in opposition to Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina within the Girls’s Tennis Affiliation (WTA) Tour foremost draw.
“I’ve solely dreamed of moments like this. The truth that I’m right here proper now, and in a position to expertise it in actual life, continues to be slightly bit stunning to me,” stated the tennis star, per the event’s web site.
“To be standing right here proper now and really getting an opportunity to play in the primary draw, it means all the pieces. [Rybakina’s] No. 2 for a motive, so I’m anticipating a battle. Hopefully, I can convey out my finest degree in opposition to her.”
Frodin was 12 when she booked the function as Williams’ physique double in “King Richard.”
The 2021 biopic adopted the real-life story of Serena and her sister Venus Williams’ rise to skilled tennis gamers with the assistance of their father, Richard Williams.
The teenager booked the function after she swept the singles, doubles and blended at a neighborhood sectional event.
“It helps that I used to be sort of taking part in a sport that I’ve finished my entire life, so it didn’t really feel too new,” she defined in an interview on the time, per WTA Tennis.
“I simply needed to exit and play tennis, attempt to replicate her strokes slightly bit. Doing it with Will Smith was tremendous cool. He’s a brilliant good man. He really gave me some on-set ideas and issues to take with me.”
Smith, 57, gained an Oscar for his function as Richard, whereas Serena was performed by actress Demi Singleton.
Though Frodin acted as Serena’s double onscreen, she has by no means met the tennis champ, 44, or Venus, 46, in particular person — at the least not but.
As for Serena, she made a shock return to the US Open this 12 months, competing in blended doubles and making ready for a girls’s doubles look.
In 2022, the mother of two introduced she was retiring from tennis to concentrate on constructing her household.
Serena and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, share daughters Olympia and Adira, born in September 2017 and August 2023, respectively.
