Thea Frodin, who was Serena Williams’ body double in ‘King Richard,’ loses in her US Open debut

NEW YORK (AP) — Thea Frodin once had to hit like Serena Williams in a movie. On Tuesday at the U.S. Open, she showed some pretty good power of her own in real life.The 17-year-old from California lost to No. 2 Elena Rybakina 6-3, 6-2 while playing her first WTA Tour match in a Grand Slam tournament.Frodin fired 11 aces, nearly doubling up one of the best servers in women’s tennis.“She played really well today and she has great shots,” Rybakina said.In the 2021 film “King Richard,” Frodin was the body double for actor Demi Singleton, who played the younger Williams sister. Frodin earned the opportunity to audition after winning singles, doubles and mixed doubles sectional titles at the 10-and-under level in California and then spent six months working on set.Will Smith won an Oscar for his performance as Richard Williams, father to Serena and her sister, Venus.Frodin played her way into the U.S. Open by winning the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships to earn a wild card.With fans in the Grandstand chanting her name, Frodin fired consecutive aces after facing match point trailing 5-1, then hit another to erase a third match point Rybakina had earned and eventually held serve. Rybakina finally finished the match on her fourth try by hitting her sixth ace.Rybakina is guaranteed to take the No. 1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka if she reaches the semifinals, or if the two-time defending champion doesn’t win the tournament.___See AP’s full tennis coverage here