NEW YORK — Thea Frodin is playing her first US Open singles match towards the No. 2 participant in girls’s tennis.
It’s an enormous activity for the 17-year-old, however Frodin hits the ball like Serena Williams. Well, like Serena Williams in the flicks, anyway.
In the 2021 movie “King Richard,” Frodin was the body double for actor Demi Singleton, who performed the youthful Williams. Now, Frodin will play tennis on digital camera as herself on Tuesday when she faces Elena Rybakina.
“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 mentioned Monday in a telephone interview.
Tournament tennis is what gave Frodin, who’s from Los Angeles, the prospect to succeed in the US Open. She gained the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships to earn a wild card into the sector.
It’s additionally what bought her into the flicks.
She was playing on the 10-and-under stage in California and gained the singles, doubles and blended doubles sectional titles. She was then invited to audition for the half, in which she can be the on-court body double for Singleton.
“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 mentioned. “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.”
Smith gained an Oscar for his efficiency as Richard Williams, Venus and Serena’s father.
Frodin discovered it pretty straightforward to duplicate Serena Williams’ swings due to how acquainted she already was with them from watching the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion’s profession. The downside, she discovered, was that it began to have an effect on her in her day job.
“It’s actually funny. After I was done with 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 mentioned. “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.”
Frodin, who performed in the U.S. Open doubles final yr, has not met Serena or Venus Williams.
The match towards Rybakina can be her first on the WTA Tour stage, having misplaced in the qualifying spherical earlier this yr in Miami in her earlier try. Frodin has a yr left in highschool and does not know her plans after that.
If Hollywood comes calling, she’d have an interest.
“Obviously, my No. 1 focus always has been tennis, but I’ve always had this little thought in the back of my mind. I feel like it would be really cool if I could somehow balance both,” Frodin mentioned. “I mean, I loved every second of being in that kind of environment, of that kind of acting life. I enjoy it a lot and yeah, if it’s even possible, I don’t mind having that as a side gig, you know?”