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From body double to main draw: Thea Frodin's US Open debut

Thea Frodin, 17, who was Serena Williams' body double in the film 'King Richard,' will make her US Open singles debut against No. 2 Elena Rybakina. The teenager earned a wild card by winning the USTA Billie Jean King Girls' 18s National Championships.

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

A Wild Card and a Movie Role

Thea Frodin, 17, is set to play her first S. Open singles match, facing No. 2 Elena Rybakina in the first round. Frodin earned a wild card into the field by winning the USTA Billie Jean King Girls' 18s National Championships, as reported by NBC Sports.

Frodin's path to the S. Open began in junior tennis. She was playing at the 10-and-under level in California and won singles, doubles, and mixed doubles sectional titles, according to NBC Sports. Her success on court also opened a door to Hollywood: she was invited to audition for the role of body double for Demi Singleton, the actress who played a young Serena Williams in the 2021 film "King Richard."

Replicating Serena Williams

In the film, Frodin served as the on-court body double for Singleton, a role that put her alongside actors including Will Smith, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Richard Williams, Venus and Serena's father, NBC Sports reported. Frodin spent six months on set.

"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, as quoted by NBC Sports. "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."

The experience left a lasting impression on her own game. Frodin told NBC Sports that she got into the habit of using Serena Williams' strokes and had difficulty switching back to her own technique. "So my parents — I mean, obviously, it's a great person to replicate — but my parents were a little bit upset because I was playing like Serena, so it took me a while to get back to my normal technique," she said.

A Debut Against the No. 2 Seed

Frodin will face Elena Rybakina in her first WTA Tour-level match, having previously lost in qualifying at Miami earlier this year, according to NBC Sports. She played in the S. Open doubles last year.

She has not met Serena or Venus Williams, NBC Sports reported. Frodin, who has a year left in high school, told the Associated Press, as quoted by Us Weekly: "I've worked so hard to try and get to this level, and to have an opportunity like this is just really special for me."

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.

Nbc Sports

Framing: Highlights Frodin's transition from body double to U.S. Open player, emphasizing her dual Hollywood and tennis history. — sympathetic and admiring

as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC

Facts Included:

Thea Frodin is playing her first U.S. Open singles match against the No. 2 player in women's tennis, Elena Rybakina.
Frodin is 17 years old.
In the 2021 film 'King Richard,' Frodin was the body double for actor Demi Singleton, who played the younger Williams.
Frodin won the USTA Billie Jean King Girls' 18s National Championships to earn a wild card into the field.
She was playing at the 10-and-under level in California and won the singles, doubles and mixed doubles sectional titles.
Smith won an Oscar for his performance as Richard Williams, Venus and Serena's father.
Frodin played in the U.S. Open doubles last year.
Frodin has not met Serena or Venus Williams.
The match against Rybakina will be her first at the WTA Tour level, having lost in the qualifying round earlier this year in Miami.
Frodin has a year left in high school.

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Us Weekly

Framing: Highlights the connection between Serena Williams and the body double from the movie King Richard at the US Open.

as of Sep 1, 2026, 7:46 PM UTC

Facts Included:

Thea Frodin, 17, will make her US Open singles debut on Tuesday, September 1.
Frodin was the body double for Demi Singleton, actress who played a young Williams in the 2021 movie King Richard.
Frodin told the Associated Press on Monday, August 31: 'I’ve worked so hard to try and get to this level, and to have an opportunity like this is just really special for me.'
Frodin will face No. 2 Elena Rybakina in the first round of the US Open.
Frodin has played competitive tennis since childhood.
Her success at 10-and-under tennis in California got her the opportunity to audition for the sports drama.
Frodin was on set for six months and got to be alongside actors including Will Smith.
Frodin said: 'After I was done with the movie, I actually got into the habit of using, or playing with her strokes, and I couldn’t switch back to mine because I was so used to hers.'
Frodin said: 'Obviously, my No. 1 focus always has been tennis, but I’ve always had this little thought in the back of my mind.'

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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 is playing her first U.S. Open singles match against the No. 2 player in women's tennis, Elena Rybakina.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Nbc Sports as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC, Us Weekly as of Sep 1, 2026, 7:46 PM UTC
ClaimThea Frodin is 17 years old.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Nbc Sports as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC, Us Weekly as of Sep 1, 2026, 7:46 PM UTC
ClaimIn the 2021 film 'King Richard,' Thea Frodin was the body double for actor Demi Singleton, who played the younger Serena Williams.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Nbc Sports as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC, Us Weekly as of Sep 1, 2026, 7:46 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin won the USTA Billie Jean King Girls' 18s National Championships to earn a wild card into the U.S. Open field.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Nbc Sports as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin was playing at the 10-and-under level in California and won the singles, doubles and mixed doubles sectional titles.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Nbc Sports as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC, Us Weekly as of Sep 1, 2026, 7:46 PM UTC
ClaimWill Smith won an Oscar for his performance as Richard Williams, Venus and Serena's father, in the film 'King Richard.'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Nbc Sports as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin played in the U.S. Open doubles last year.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Nbc Sports as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin has not met Serena or Venus Williams.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Nbc Sports as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin has a year left in high school and does not know her plans after that.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Nbc Sports as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin told the Associated Press: 'I've worked so hard to try and get to this level, and to have an opportunity like this is just really special for me.'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Us Weekly as of Sep 1, 2026, 7:46 PM UTC, Nbc Sports as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin will face No. 2 Elena Rybakina in the first round of the US Open.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Us Weekly as of Sep 1, 2026, 7:46 PM UTC, Nbc Sports as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin has played competitive tennis since childhood.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Us Weekly as of Sep 1, 2026, 7:46 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin's success at 10-and-under tennis in California got her the opportunity to audition for the sports drama 'King Richard.'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Us Weekly as of Sep 1, 2026, 7:46 PM UTC, Nbc Sports as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin was on set for six months for 'King Richard' and got to be alongside actors including Will Smith.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Us Weekly as of Sep 1, 2026, 7:46 PM UTC, Nbc Sports as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin said: 'After I was done with the movie, I actually got into the habit of using, or playing with her strokes, and I couldn't switch back to mine because I was so used to hers.'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Us Weekly as of Sep 1, 2026, 7:46 PM UTC, Nbc Sports as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC
ClaimFrodin said: 'Obviously, my No. 1 focus always has been tennis, but I've always had this little thought in the back of my mind.'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Us Weekly as of Sep 1, 2026, 7:46 PM UTC, Nbc Sports as of Sep 1, 2026, 5:47 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles consulted: Nbc Sports, Us Weekly 16 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-09-01