Thea Frodin first stepped into Serena Williams’ shoes on a Hollywood movie set. Five years later, the 17-year-old American will step onto a US Open court with her own name on the draw.
Frodin will make her Grand Slam main-draw debut against No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina, a daunting assignment that also completes one of the tournament’s most improbable journeys.
Long before Frodin earned a US Open wild card, she worked as the junior stunt and body double for Williams in the 2021 film “King Richard.” The acclaimed biographical drama followed Richard Williams’ determination to guide Serena and Venus Williams from the public courts of Compton, California, to the highest level of tennis.
Frodin was only 12 when she helped recreate Serena’s formative years on screen.
“It was really special,” Frodin told the International Tennis Federation about the experience.
The Southern California native spent approximately six months on the production and worked around stars such as Will Smith, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Richard Williams.
The movie role offered Frodin a glimpse of someone else’s rise. Her US Open debut marks the beginning of her own.
Thea Frodin Earns US Open Wild Card
Frodin did not receive her place in the women’s draw because of her connection to Williams.
She earned it by winning the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships in San Diego earlier this month. Frodin defeated Julieta Pareja 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4) in the semifinals before overwhelming Janae Preston 6-1, 6-0 in the championship match.
The title carried one of the most valuable prizes in American junior tennis: a wild card into the US Open main draw.
Frodin enters Flushing Meadows ranked No. 580 in the world, but her résumé already contains encouraging signs. She reached the girls’ singles semifinals at the 2026 Australian Open and finished runner-up in girls’ doubles at Wimbledon in 2025 alongside Pareja.
Her progress has begun to extend beyond junior competition.
Frodin reached her first professional final at the ITF W35 tournament in Arcadia, California, in February after defeating rising prospect Kristina Liutova. She also made her WTA qualifying debut in Miami, pushing former world No. 35 Viktorija Golubic to three sets in her first match against a top-100 opponent.
The WTA lists Frodin with an 18-10 singles record this season. She has climbed more than 400 ranking positions since the end of 2025.
Now comes a leap unlike any she has attempted.
Elena Rybakina Presents Formidable First Test
Rybakina will enter the matchup as an overwhelming favorite.
The world No. 2 owns one of the most damaging serves in women’s tennis and won the 2026 Australian Open after capturing the WTA Finals title late last season. She also reached the Indian Wells and Toronto finals and won the Stuttgart championship.
There is at least one uncertainty surrounding the two-time major winner. Rybakina retired from her Cincinnati quarterfinal against Iga Swiatek because of an ankle injury and subsequently withdrew from the US Open mixed doubles tournament.
Rybakina said Saturday that walking had been painful for several days, but she has resumed practicing and expects to play.
That does not transform Frodin into the favorite. It does, however, give the teenager a reason to arrive believing the match can become competitive if she handles the occasion and forces Rybakina to defend.
Frodin’s athleticism once helped filmmakers reproduce Serena’s movement and strokes. Against Rybakina, she will need every bit of that speed while trying to withstand one of the sport’s heaviest first strikes.
The contrast is enormous: a 17-year-old wild card making her tour-level debut against the second-ranked player in the world.
Yet the setting could hardly be more fitting. Serena is also back at Flushing Meadows this year, competing in women’s doubles with Venus Williams after returning to professional tennis.
Frodin once portrayed the beginning of Serena’s story. At the US Open, with Williams on the same tournament grounds, she finally gets to begin writing her own.
Serena Williams’ ‘King Richard’ Double Makes US Open Main-Draw Debut