Perhaps no other Australian Open 2026 junior singles' title contender is as in tune as 17-year-old Thea Frodin.
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The American junior girls’ singles eighth seed on Thursday served nine aces during her 6-4 7-5 victory over Antonina Sushkova to advance to the quarterfinals.
When she’s not on court, the right-hander is striking a completely different note.
“My favourite hobby outside of tennis is actually singing,” the Californian native said in an interview with ausopen.com. “I wouldn't say I'm like the best singer, but I can't stop.”
“I'm trying to learn the guitar, but [I sing] on my own, no instruments yet, but that’s the goal.”
And what exactly is in Frodin’s vocal catalogue?
“I try to sing some Adele, I'm obsessed with Mariah Carey, but that's so hard, kind of just like pop,” she said with a smile.
And if she had to whittle down her repertoire to just one song for a talent show such as American Idol?
“A Beyonce song, I can't remember,” she started, before pivoting to the classic ‘Hallelujah’ by Jeff Buckley, released in 1994, around 14 years before she was born.
Frodin based in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, first picked up a tennis racquet at the age of five.
“My dad kind of brought me into it, he used to play growing up, so me and him would go to the nearest high school and just find courts to hit on,” she explained.
Those were hardcourts, coincidentally Frodin’s favourite surface “at the moment,” a caveat perhaps because she’s had the most success in her young career on grass as a finalist in junior girls’ doubles at 2025 Wimbledon.
The 17-year-old, who also has Swedish roots, remembers first laying her eyes on the blue courts of Melbourne Park on television.
“I watched AO definitely a lot growing up,” she said. “So many good matches, I remember watching Serena [Williams] play a lot, and she was such an inspiration.”
Perhaps it’s destiny that Frodin was cast as the tennis double of the young Serena in the Oscar-nominated film King Richard.
“I was on set for six months – quite a long time actually, we started right before Covid and then it hit, so it kind of took a longer time,” she said.
Though she didn’t meet Serena, the teen did meet Will Smith, who earned the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Richard Williams.
“It was a really, really fun experience.”
While the 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams is “definitely number one on the list for me,” Frodin said also she grew up admiring the game of Australian three-time Grand Slam champion Ash Barty.
And asked to pick her dream doubles partner, current or former, Frodin had an immediate answer: Coco Gauff.
The talented teen hasn’t yet had a chance to hit with Gauff or many of her countrywomen currently representing the stars and stripes atop the women’s game.
“I train next to them a lot, like Madi Keys and Jen Brady, but hopefully in the future,” said Frodin, who is competing at AO 2026 in Nike kit similar to that of women’s quarterfinalist and fourth seed Amanda Anisimova.
MORE: AO 2026 girls’ singles draw
Unlike Gauff, Anisimova and AO 2025 women’s singles champion Keys, Frodin remains in contention to collect silverware this weekend.
“It would mean everything to win,” said the ambitious teen who was defeated in three sets by Australia’s Emerson Jones on the court now known as ANZ Arena in the second round of AO 2025.
“That (match) just motivated me more and was actually probably the biggest stage that I've been on, so it’s truly a wonderful atmosphere and it would mean so much to win this tournament.”
Like many prodigious junior stars, Frodin is weighing whether to pursue college tennis or to test herself on tour.
“I'm kind of in the middle of everything right now, still deciding whether to go to college or pro.
“Nowadays, college is such a good opportunity and experience, but I don't fully know yet.”
Though the teen and her Serbian partner Anastasija Cvetkovic, seeded third, lost their junior girls’ doubles quarterfinal to Mariia Makarova and Rada Zolotareva, Frodin has a chance to exact revenge on Friday.
Makarova, the singles’ 13th seed, upset Czechian top seed Alena Kovackova to earn her place as the American’s quarterfinal opponent.
Fans of Frodin will surely tune in to see if her game remains on song.