US Open: Thea Frodin, Serena Williams body double from 'King Richard,' falls to No. 2 Elena Rybakina in Grand Slam debut
US Open: Thea Frodin, Serena Williams body double from 'King Richard,' falls to No. 2 Elena Rybakina in Grand Slam debut
Jack BaerTue, September 1, 2026 at 11:56 PM UTC
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Serena Williams did not enter the singles draw for the 2026 US Open. That doesn’t mean she didn’t have a presence in the background.
Years ago, Thea Frodin performed as a body double for actor Demi Singleton’s performance as Williams in the Academy Award-winning movie “King Richard.” Now 17 years old, she made her Grand Slam singles debut on Tuesday, as the first-round opponent for No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina.
Rybakina won 6-3, 6-2, but it was still a special moment in Frodin’s young career.
Per the , Frodin was invited to audition for the Williams role after she won the singles, doubles and mixed doubles sectional titles at the 10-and-under level in California.
Frodin, a lifelong Williams fan, wound up getting the on-court responsibilities and doing the job for six months:
“I was on set for six months and I got to be alongside some really cool actors and obviously Will Smith, and just the whole experience was super cool for me,” Frodin said. “And obviously to be able to play the double, or the role of somebody that I look up to and I have always been inspired by was truly, like, a very special experience for me.”
Frodin, who reportedly never met Serena or Venus Williams, continued to compete following the movie and won the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships this year, earning her a wild card into the singles draw this year. She also competed in doubles at the US Open last year alongside fellow teenager Kristina Penickova.
Rybakina was obviously a tough first test. Frodin actually posted more aces than the big-serving Kazakh (11-6), but the difference in level was clear on second serve, with Rybakina winning 20 of 25 (80%) of those points in her service games, compared Frodin’s 11 of 32 (34.4%). Frodin showed off impressive power, but Rybakina was simply steadier from the baseline.
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Rybakina was impressed in her post-match interview:
“She played really well today. She has great shots, great serve. It was not easy. I’m just happy to be here, playing here. Thank you so much for coming and supporting us. It’s always a nice atmosphere. I really enjoyed it.”
The match was one of the high-profile of the first round. All eyes will remain on Rybakina going forward as well.
Elena Rybakina is on the verge of WTA’s No. 1 ranking
Rybakina is so close to grabbing the top WTA ranking from No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka that she technically didn’t even need to beat Frodin to make it possible.
Because Sabalenka is defending her 2,000 rankings points from her US Open title last year, while Rybakina only has 240 points to defend, Rybakina would need some very specific things to happen to remain No. 2. Here’s how the scenarios play out:
Rybakina reaches semifinal: Rybakina becomes No. 1 no matter what.
Rybakina does not reach semifinal, one of Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula or Coco Gauff wins the title: The champion is No. 1.
Rybakina does not reach semifinal, none of Sabalenka, Pegula or Gauff win the title: Rybakina becomes No. 1 no matter what.
With the win over Frodin, Rybakina is now four wins from reaching the semifinal, with No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek and No. 13 seed Naomi Osaka representing her most dangerous potential opponents in the quarterfinals.
The bigger concern might be Rybakina’s health, as she had to retire against Swiatek in Cincinnati with what turned out to be a heel injury. That injury didn’t hobble her too much Tuesday, but she noted that her recovery will be worth monitoring:
“We’ll see day by day. I’m glad I played the match, I won the match. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow.. Because I had to take quite a break. I wasn’t playing or doing much physically. For me now a step at a time. The most important is to recover and listen to the body. For now it’s been okay.”
Rybakina’s second-round opponent will be the winner of the match between Darja Vidmanova and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, which was suspended due to rain with Bouzas leading 6-3, 3-2.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
