Bianca Andreescu, the winner of the 2019 women’s title, along with fellow Canadian Carson Branstine, secured victories on Wednesday to progress to the final stage of the U.S. Open qualification rounds.
Andreescu, hailing from Mississauga, Ontario, triumphed over Veronika Podrez from Ukraine with a score of 6-0, 6-3 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 for the following day against either Tamara Zidansek from Slovenia or Guiomar Maristany from Spain.
Branstine achieved a 6-4, 7-5 victory against Linda Fruhvirtova from Czechia. The 25-year-old dual citizen, born in California but representing her mother’s homeland, capitalized on all five of her break-point chances and delivered 22 winners compared to Fruhvirtova’s eight. Branstine is set to compete against Robin Montgomery from the United States for a chance to secure one of the remaining main-draw positions.
During the 2019 U.S. Open, Andreescu made history by becoming the first Canadian to win a singles Grand Slam title, defeating the renowned Serena Williams in the final. She last participated in the tournament in 2024, facing a first-round defeat against Maria Sakkari.
In contrast, Branstine faced a first-round elimination in the previous year’s U.S. Open. Her Grand Slam debut occurred earlier in 2025 at Wimbledon, where she emerged from the qualifying rounds, defeating her friend and occasional doubles partner, Andreescu, in the process.
In additional second-round qualification matches held on Wednesday, Vancouver’s veteran player Rebecca Marino suffered a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Russia’s Elena Pridankina. In the men’s second-round qualifying games, Alexis Galarneau from Levis, Quebec, was defeated 7-6 (3), 6-2 by Dalibor Svrcina from Czechia. Liam Draxl from Newmarket, Ontario, was scheduled to face American Andrew Johnson later in the day.