Frodin hopes to meet idol Serena Williams after US Open debut

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/williams-serena/ttsu68nH/"]Serena[/a], a 23-time Grand Slam champion, ‌returned to the court for the first time in ‌nearly four years at the Queen's Club Championships in London in June ‌and is back at Flushing Meadows competing in doubles with ‌sister Venus.[/p][p][b]"Hopefully I can get the chance soon to get the opportunity to meet her,"[/b] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/frodin-thea/6u2PqMUb/"]Frodin[/a] told reporters after losing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/frodin-t-6u2PqMUb/rybakina-e-UDzElXdm/?mid=n53kj9Ra"]6-1, 6-1[/a] to world ‌number two [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rybakina-elena/UDzElXdm/"]Elena Rybakina[/a] on Arthur Ashe Stadium.[/p][image alt="Frodin-Rybakina matchup stats" id="ab27ab6b-eec1-4818-941f-af06b5e97c94" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="7729726a-fe26-4208-a2f3-fb45b765165b" original-width="2160" original-height="3840" /][p]Frodin ⁠earned a wildcard for the ‌U.S. Open by winning the USTA Girls' 18s National Championships, and while ​her Grand Slam debut against Rybakina was a harsh introduction to life at the elite level, she said it ​was a valuable lesson for her career.[/p][p][b]"It was a fun experience to kind of see how the best players in the ⁠world, how they hit ​their balls and their shots," [/b]she said.[/p][p][b]"My goal on court is always to have an aggressive game style. Today I feel like it was a bit harder to bring that out. Hopefully the ‌next time I can be more experienced and see what I can do."[/b][/p][p]Frodin said she had managed to handle the attention surrounding her unusual connection to Serena, though acknowledged it was difficult to escape the headlines before her debut.[/p][p][b]"I think it's hard to get away from all of that. It's kind of just about accepting it and not letting it get to you,"[/b] she added.[/p][embed guid="4faed3ee-2efa-4034-8947-23dbba09b551" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSeNUOVsIPU&pp=ygULVGhlYSBGcm9kaW4%3D" social-type="youtube" /][p]Actor Will Smith, who won an Academy Award for playing Serena's ‌father, Richard Williams, in the film, reposted one of Frodin's social ​media posts before her match, something she described as [b]"pretty cool."[/b][/p][p]Frodin ‌plans to play the girls' U.S. Open next week and finish high school before deciding whether to turn professional or play college tennis.[/p][p][b]"I'm not rushing into kind of making a decision with all that," [/b]she said. [b]"I'm taking this year and ⁠next year to finish high ⁠school and then see ‌where I am then."[/b][/p][infobox id="3dc51b3a-107f-482b-9173-a97d347ef1b3" /]