(September 1, 2026) FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY – Thea Frodin, at 10, was the body double of the actress who portrayed a young Serena Williams in the movie “King Richard.”
The 17-year-old Thea Frodin from California played in her first major tournament in real life and lost to No. 2 Elena Rybakina 6-3, 6-2 on Tuesday on the Grandstand Court.
In a twist, Frodin hit 11 aces, almost doubling up one of the best servers in the women’s game. “But yeah, I mean, I think my goal on court is always to have an aggressive game style,” said Frodin. “Today I feel like it was a bit harder to bring that out, because obviously she is a very aggressive player.
Frodin earned a wild card into the US Open by winning the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships.
“She played really well today and she has great shots,” Rybakina said after the match. “It was not easy. I’m just happy to be here, playing here.”
Rybakina has been suffering from a foot injury. “We’ll see day by day,” said the Kazakh. “I’m glad I won the match. We’ll see how I’m gonna feel tomorrow because I had to take quite a break and wasn’t doing much physical. For now, it’s been okay.”
In her news conference, Frodin said: “Obviously I had a tough first round. Rybakina is a great player. Yeah, I tried going out there to see what it would be like just to, I guess, feel no pressure. Yeah, just go out there and have a fun time.
“I feel like that’s what I accomplished, and obviously I have a lot to learn, but I’m excited with most of the things I did out there.
“Yeah, I’m excited to, I guess, experience this more times, hopefully.”
She said that she didn’t let all the publicity about her get to her.
“I think it’s hard to get away from all of that. It’s kind of just about accepting it and not letting it get to you.
“I feel like I did a good job of that. Obviously I saw that Will Smith reposted one of my posts, so that was pretty cool and a cool experience.”
The high schooler plans to continue to play with the juniors.
“I think, you know, it was a fun experience to kind of see, you know, how the best players in the world, how they hit their balls and their shots. Yeah, hopefully the next time I meet her, if I do, I can be more experienced and, yeah, see what I can do.”
She has yet to meet Serena Williams in person.
“I actually have not met her yet. But hopefully I can get the chance soon to get the opportunity to meet her.”
