Thea Frodin is making her U.S. Open debut against No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina in the first round on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Frodin served as the tennis-playing body double for actress Demi Singleton, who played a young Serena Williams in the 2021 film, King Richard. <\/p>\n
That movie starred Will Smith as Richard Williams, the father of Serena and Venus Williams, as he navigated many trials and tribulations en route to charting his daughters’ early paths to tennis superstardom.<\/p>\n
Frodin, 17, spoke about her experience.<\/p>\n
“It helps that I was kind of playing a sport that I’ve done my whole life, so it didn’t feel too new,” Frodin said, per Richard Osborn<\/a> of the US Open website. <\/p>\n “I just had to go out and play tennis, try to replicate her strokes a little bit. Doing it with [Richard Williams portrayer] Will Smith was super cool. He’s a super nice guy. He actually gave me some on-set tips and things to take with me.”<\/p>\n Frodin has enjoyed great success on the junior circuit and notably reached the semifinals of the girls’ singles draw at the 2026 Australian Open. <\/p>\n She’s also done well in junior doubles, making the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and Roland-Garros this year. Frodin reached the junior doubles finals at Wimbledon in 2025.<\/p>\n