Bianca Andreescu, the defending champion from 2019, and Carson Branstine, both representing Canada, emerged victorious in their matches on Wednesday, securing spots in the final stage of the U.S. Open qualifying rounds.
Andreescu, hailing from Mississauga, Ontario, dominated her match against Veronika Podrez from Ukraine with a scoreline of 6-0, 6-3 in the women’s singles qualifying event. The 26-year-old Canadian showcased her prowess by breaking her opponent five times out of 12 opportunities, setting up a clash on Thursday with either Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia or Guiomar Maristany of Spain.
On the other hand, Branstine claimed a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Linda Fruhvirtova from Czechia. The 25-year-old athlete, 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 face Robin Montgomery of the United States in the upcoming match to secure a spot in the main draw.
Andreescu made history at the 2019 U.S. Open by becoming the first Canadian to win a singles Grand Slam title, defeating the iconic Serena Williams in the final. She previously participated in the tournament in 2024, where she was eliminated in the first round by Maria Sakkari.
Branstine’s journey includes a first-round exit in the previous year’s U.S. Open qualifying rounds. Her Grand Slam debut took place earlier in 2025 at Wimbledon, where she advanced through the qualifiers, even triumphing over her friend and occasional doubles partner, Andreescu.
In other matches on Wednesday, Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino suffered a 6-2, 6-4 defeat against Russia’s Elena Pridankina in the second round of women’s qualifying. Moving on to the men’s section, Alexis Galarneau from Levis, Quebec, faced a 7-6 (3), 6-2 loss against Dalibor Svrcina from Czechia. Later in the day, Liam Draxl from Newmarket, Ontario, took on American Andrew Johnson in his second-round qualifying match.