Thea Frodin has turned a junior title into a ticket to the U.S. Open. The 17-year-old from Los Angeles won the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships on Aug. 16, 2026, in San Diego and earned a wild card into the main draw.
That matters now because Frodin is set for her first U.S. Open singles match on Wednesday, and the name across the net is Elena Rybakina, the No. 2 player in women’s tennis. Frodin said in a phone interview on Monday that she has “worked so hard to try and get to this level,” and called the chance “really special” after coming through a pathway that can change a young player’s season in one weekend.
The wild card came through the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships, the tournament reserved for the top junior players in the country. Win the event, and the reward is direct entry into the U.S. Open field. For Frodin, that route now delivers the kind of stage most juniors only see on television.
Her rise has also been shaped by work far from the court. In 2021, Frodin was the body double for Demi Singleton in the film “King Richard,” which followed the early life of Serena Williams. Frodin said she spent six months on set, was around Will Smith and other actors, and found the experience “super cool.” She added that playing the role of someone she has long admired was “truly” special.
That connection gave her a different kind of apprenticeship. Frodin said Serena Williams’ swings were fairly easy to replicate because she had watched Williams’ career, and she said the filming started to affect her in her day job. The crossover from movie set to match court is unusual, but her path has always been built from repeated steps: sectional wins, an audition, a body-double role and now a national title that carries her into a Grand Slam.
The next test is a severe one. Frodin is not just entering her first U.S. Open singles match. She is doing it against one of the sport’s elite players, with the kind of spotlight that tells a young player very quickly where she stands. If she can compete there, the title in San Diego will look less like a breakthrough and more like the beginning of a much larger climb.
