Bianca Andreescu, the reigning women’s champion from Canada, along with compatriot Carson Branstine, secured victories on Wednesday to progress to the final round of U.S. Open qualifying matches.
Andreescu, hailing from Mississauga, Ontario, dominated with a 6-0, 6-3 win against Veronika Podrez from Ukraine in the second round of the women’s singles qualifying event. The 26-year-old Canadian managed to break her opponent five times out of 12 opportunities, setting up a match on Thursday against either Tamara Zidansek from Slovenia or Guiomar Maristany from Spain.
On the other hand, Branstine achieved a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Linda Fruhvirtova from Czechia. The 25-year-old athlete, who holds dual citizenship and represents her mother’s homeland, seized all five of her break-point chances and delivered 22 winners compared to Fruhvirtova’s eight. Branstine is scheduled to play against Robin Montgomery from the United States on Thursday for a chance to secure one of the remaining main-draw positions.
Andreescu made Canadian history during the 2019 U.S. Open by becoming the first Canadian to win a singles Grand Slam, defeating the iconic Serena Williams in the final. In her most recent appearance in the tournament in 2024, she faced a first-round loss against Maria Sakkari.
Contrastingly, Branstine faced a first-round defeat in last year’s U.S. Open qualifying. Her Grand Slam debut took place earlier in 2025 at Wimbledon, where she emerged from qualifying, defeating her friend and occasional doubles partner, Andreescu, in the process.
In additional second-round qualifying matches on Wednesday, Vancouver’s experienced player Rebecca Marino suffered a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Russia’s Elena Pridankina. As for the men’s second-round qualifying session, Alexis Galarneau from Levis, Quebec, fell 7-6 (3), 6-2 to Dalibor Svrcina from Czechia, while Liam Draxl from Newmarket, Ontario, faced American Andrew Johnson later in the day.