Branstine, Andreescu set for high-stakes reunion at Wimbledon qualifying

Eight years after winning the Australian Open juniors, Carson Branstine and Bianca Andreescu face each other in Wimbledon qualifying -- older, tougher and ready to win.

ROEHAMPTON, London -- Carson Branstine remembers the moment she would be lifelong friends with Bianca Andreescu. The first time they traveled together was at the 2017 Australian Open -- Branstine had just switched nationality from the U.S. to Canada -- and on their first night in Melbourne, the two 16-year-olds went on a snack run.

The following morning, Branstine opened the fridge to find the Brie she had carefully selected was already gone. Andreescu 'fessed up' to its theft immediately. A week later, the pair left Australia as the girls doubles champions, having defeated Maja Chwalinska and Iga Swiatek in the final.

"We're ultra-accountable with each other," Branstine said with a laugh after upsetting No. 1 seed and Roland Garros semifinalist Lois Boisson 6-2, 6-7(1), 6-4 in the first round of Wimbledon qualifying. Her reward? Eight years after bonding over Brie, Branstine will have to play her childhood friend for the first time.

Andreescu, who advanced 6-2, 6-1 over Laura Pigossi, said that they had joked about the possibility two weeks ago in 's-Hertogenbosch, where they reunited as doubles partners for the first time at tour level.

"The universe gave us exactly that," she said. "We both want each other to do well, but tennis doesn't give a s---."

The pair are overflowing with praise for each other.

"I love that girl," Branstine said. "We'll go to the grave together for sure. Bianca has one of the best hearts on tour, and I'm so blessed to call her one of my best friends."

Andreescu responds in kind.

"She's one of those friends where, when we're together, it's like nothing ever happened," she said. "She's just the funniest person ever. She's super easygoing -- I know on the court she might not seem that way! She's a perfectionist, just like me."

Branstine and Andreescu have wound up at Roehampton this year after taking very divergent paths -- with one unfortunate common thread -- following their standout junior careers. Andreescu delivered a spectacular breakthrough season in 2019, winning the US Open as a 19-year-old but has been unable to play a full season since due to a host of injuries and illnesses. She's currently ranked No. 147 and playing Wimbledon qualifying for the first time since 2018.

Branstine went to college instead -- three of them, in fact: the University of South Carolina, the University of Virginia and Texas A&M -- but injuries prevented her from even taking to the court at the first two.

"I've taken more than five years off with injuries, total," Branstine said. "Even as a junior. I think the last time I played a full schedule was when I was 15 years old. I was playing through something all my life."

Since graduating in 2023, Branstine has enjoyed one of her longest spells of good health -- something she ascribes to "taking ownership of everything." She did her own research and discovered what worked for her body -- and what didn't.

"Unfortunately, I had to not listen to a lot of people and learn on my own," she said. "I found a secret formula in a way, because I think I'm one of the best athletes on tour. I can run fast, I can lift heavy weights and I'm pretty mobile for how tall I am. My physicality, I'm up there with anyone."

Ranked No. 197, Branstine's win over Boisson is the second time in three weeks that she's upset a No. 1 seed in the first round of a tournament. On her WTA main-draw debut in 's-Hertogenbosch, she ousted defending champion Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 for her first Top 20 win. She says she enjoys coming into matches as the technical underdog -- knowing she has the game to take anyone down.

"We're not in Paris anymore," she said of facing Boisson, the darling of Roland Garros last month. "We're on grass. It's different. I'm very confident in myself. Maybe not everyone knows me, but I think I can beat anyone out there."

Branstine’s self-belief draws on both her Top 5 junior success and the setbacks she’s overcome. Late in college, she doubted whether she could keep playing. She started exploring other paths -- shadowing a family lawyer and signing with two modeling agencies as a “little side hustle.”

But Branstine has the grit of someone who's resolutely proud of being self-made. Reluctant to take money from her parents, she used her modeling income to get her tennis career off the ground instead.

"I came into the sport with no sponsors, no coach, no base," she said. "Just me, myself and I. My first tournaments back [in 2023], I went to Monastir with no training and no muscle. I won two W15s in a row, so I had to keep going."

This week, Branstine and Andreescu are taking different approaches again when it comes to how they're seeking success. Andreescu is focused in her pursuit of a zen attitude, particularly when it comes to the surface.

"I have this mindset of being one with the grass," she said. "It's a living thing, so I'm trying to be in touch with my spirituality in that sense. Touching the grass, speaking to it. No getting upset with it. I try to do that in practice and implement it in my matches. I think it's helping for the most part. It gives me faith in myself and in the grass."

By contrast, Branstine favors a more hard-nosed approach -- self-imposed ultimatums. She told herself she would quit if she didn't make Roland Garros qualifying this year. Her next goal is to break the Top 100 next year.

"It's not healthy for everyone," she said. "But it works for me."

With a place in the final round at stake, the stakes are real -- and the Brie’s not up for grabs.

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