Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open women’s champion, and Canadian player Carson Branstine both secured wins on Wednesday to progress to the final round of U.S. Open qualifying matches. Andreescu, hailing from Mississauga, Ont., triumphed with a 6-0, 6-3 victory 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, earning her a spot in the next match against either Tamara Zidansek from Slovenia or Guiomar Maristany from Spain on Thursday.
On the other hand, Branstine clinched a 6-4, 7-5 win over Linda Fruhvirtova from Czechia. The 25-year-old dual citizen, born in California but representing her mother’s homeland, successfully converted all five of her break-point opportunities and produced 22 winners compared to Fruhvirtova’s eight. Branstine is set to face Robin Montgomery from the United States in the upcoming match for a chance to secure one of the remaining main-draw positions.
In a historic moment, Andreescu became the sole Canadian to win a singles Grand Slam at the 2019 U.S. Open by defeating the legendary Serena Williams in the final. She previously participated in the tournament in 2024, encountering a first-round loss against Maria Sakkari.
Contrarily, Branstine faced an early exit in last year’s U.S. Open qualifying first round. Her Grand Slam debut occurred in the early months of 2025 at Wimbledon, where she emerged from qualifying rounds, notably defeating her friend and occasional doubles partner Andreescu along the way. Additionally, Vancouver’s veteran player Rebecca Marino was defeated 6-2, 6-4 by Russia’s Elena Pridankina in the second round of qualifying matches on Wednesday.
On the men’s side, Alexis Galarneau from Levis, Que., suffered a 7-6 (3), 6-2 loss to Dalibor Svrcina from Czechia in the second round of qualifying. Liam Draxl from Newmarket, Ont., was scheduled to meet American Andrew Johnson later the same day for his qualifying match.
