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Teen who doubled for Serena Williams in 'King Richard' makes US Open debut

Thea Frodin, the 17-year-old who served as Serena Williams' body double in the 2021 biopic 'King Richard,' made her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the US Open on Tuesday. She lost to Elena Rybakina but impressed the world No. 2 with her play, and remains undecided about her future in tennis.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Sep 1–2, 2026 Published 1h ago

A dream realised on the Grand Slam stage

Thea Frodin, the 17-year-old who acted as Serena Williams' body double in the 2021 film 'King Richard,' made her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the US Open on Tuesday. Frodin entered the match as a wildcard against world No. 2 Elena Rybakina in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour main draw, as reported by Page Six.

"I've only dreamed of moments like this. The fact that I'm here right now, and able to experience it in real life, is still a little bit shocking to me," Frodin told the tournament's website, according to Page Six.

"To be standing here right now and actually getting a chance to play in the main draw, it means everything. [Rybakina's] No. 2 for a reason, so I'm expecting a battle. Hopefully, I can bring out my best level against her," she added.

The match ended with Rybakina victorious. Frodin described her approach to the debut: "I tried going out there to see what it would be like just to, I guess, feel no pressure ... just go out there and have a fun time," she said, as quoted by NZ Herald. "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."

Rybakina, for her part, acknowledged Frodin's effort, saying she "played really well today," according to NZ Herald.

From body double to main draw

Frodin's path to the US Open began at age 12, when she secured the role of stunt and body double for Demi Singleton, who played young Serena in 'King Richard.' The biopic chronicled the rise of Serena and her sister Venus Williams under the guidance of their father, Richard Williams. Frodin earned the role after sweeping singles, doubles, and mixed events at a local sectional tournament, as reported by Page Six.

"It helps that I was kind of playing a sport that I've done my whole life, so it didn't feel too new," she told WTA Tennis at the time, per Page Six. "I just had to go out and play tennis, try to replicate her strokes a little bit. Doing it with 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."

Smith, 57, won an Oscar for his portrayal of Richard Williams, while Singleton played Serena. Despite her role, Frodin has never met Serena or Venus Williams in person, as noted by both Page Six and NZ Herald. Frodin has expressed hope that she might one day meet Serena, according to NZ Herald.

Looking ahead

Frodin remains uncertain about her future in tennis, whether that means pursuing college or turning professional. "I think I'm trying to just finish high school, see where the rest of this year takes me," she said, as quoted by NZ Herald. "I'm not rushing into kind of making a decision with all that."

She is nevertheless keen on another opportunity to face Rybakina. "Hopefully the next time I meet her, if I do, I can be more experienced and, yeah, see what I can do," Frodin said, according to NZ Herald.

Meanwhile, Serena Williams made a surprise return to the US Open this year, competing in mixed doubles and preparing for a women's doubles appearance. Williams announced her retirement from tennis in 2022 to focus on raising her family, as reported by Page Six.

How each outlet told it

A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.

NZ Herald

Framing: Emphasizes Frodin's role as body double and her defeat to Rybakina

as of Sep 2, 2026, 2:19 AM UTC

Facts Included:

Thea Frodin lost her US Open debut to Rybakina
Frodin was a stunt and body double for Demi Singleton, who played young Serena in the movie about Richard Williams and his daughters
Frodin has not met Serena Williams but hopes to
Frodin is undecided about college or professional career
Frodin said she hopes to get another chance to play Rybakina

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Page Six

Framing: The headline highlights the novelty of a former body double for Serena Williams making her US Open debut at age 17.

as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC

Facts Included:

Thea Frodin is set to make her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the 2026 US Open on Tuesday
Frodin acted as Serena Williams' body double in the 'King Richard' biopic
Frodin is 17 years old
Frodin will play Elena Rybakina in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour main draw
Frodin was 12 when she booked the role as Williams' body double
The 2021 biopic followed Serena and Venus Williams' rise to professional tennis with their father Richard Williams
Frodin swept singles, doubles and mixed at a local sectional tournament to book the role
Will Smith, 57, won an Oscar for his role as Richard
Serena was played by actress Demi Singleton
Frodin has never met Serena or Venus in person
Serena made a surprise return to the US Open this year, competing in mixed doubles and preparing for a women's doubles appearance
In 2022, Serena announced she was retiring from tennis to focus on building her family

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimThea Frodin lost her US Open debut to Elena Rybakina.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via NZ Herald as of Sep 2, 2026, 2:19 AM UTC
ClaimThea Frodin is set to make her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the 2026 US Open on Tuesday.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Page Six as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin acted as Serena Williams' body double in the 'King Richard' biopic.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Page Six as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC, NZ Herald as of Sep 2, 2026, 2:19 AM UTC
ClaimFrodin is 17 years old.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Page Six as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin will play Elena Rybakina in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour main draw.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Page Six as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin was 12 when she booked the role as Williams' body double.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Page Six as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC
ClaimThe 2021 biopic followed Serena and Venus Williams' rise to professional tennis with their father Richard Williams.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Page Six as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC, NZ Herald as of Sep 2, 2026, 2:19 AM UTC
ClaimFrodin swept singles, doubles and mixed at a local sectional tournament to book the role.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Page Six as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC
ClaimWill Smith, 57, won an Oscar for his role as Richard.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Page Six as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC
ClaimSerena was played by actress Demi Singleton.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Page Six as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin has never met Serena or Venus in person.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Page Six as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC
ClaimSerena made a surprise return to the US Open this year, competing in mixed doubles and preparing for a women's doubles appearance.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Page Six as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC
ClaimIn 2022, Serena announced she was retiring from tennis to focus on building her family.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Page Six as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin was a stunt and body double for Demi Singleton, who played young Serena in the movie about Richard Williams and his daughters.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via NZ Herald as of Sep 2, 2026, 2:19 AM UTC
ClaimFrodin has not met Serena Williams but hopes to.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via NZ Herald as of Sep 2, 2026, 2:19 AM UTC
ClaimFrodin is undecided about college or professional career.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via NZ Herald as of Sep 2, 2026, 2:19 AM UTC
ClaimFrodin said she hopes to get another chance to play Rybakina.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via NZ Herald as of Sep 2, 2026, 2:19 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles consulted: NZ Herald, Page Six 17 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-09-02