Bianca Andreescu, the winner of the 2019 women’s championship, and Carson Branstine, a fellow Canadian, emerged victorious in their matches on Wednesday, progressing to the final stage of the U.S. Open qualifying rounds.

Hailing from Mississauga, Ontario, Andreescu secured a convincing 6-0, 6-3 triumph over 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’s serve five times out of 12 opportunities, setting up a match on Thursday against either Tamara Zidansek from Slovenia or Guiomar Maristany from Spain.

Meanwhile, Branstine achieved a 6-4, 7-5 victory against Linda Fruhvirtova from Czechia. The 25-year-old dual citizen, born in California but representing her mother’s homeland, capitalized on all five of her break-point opportunities and recorded 22 winners compared to Fruhvirtova’s eight. Branstine is scheduled to face Robin Montgomery from the United States on Thursday to compete for 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, triumphing over the iconic Serena Williams in the final. She last participated in the tournament in 2024, where she was defeated by Maria Sakkari in the opening round.

On the other hand, Branstine faced an early exit in the qualifying round of last year’s U.S. Open. Her Grand Slam debut occurred earlier in 2025 at Wimbledon, where she progressed through the qualifying rounds, defeating her friend and occasional doubles partner, Andreescu, along the way.

In additional second-round qualifying matches on Wednesday, Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino fell short, losing 6-2, 6-4 to Elena Pridankina from Russia. In men’s competition, Alexis Galarneau from Levis, Quebec, suffered a 7-6 (3), 6-2 defeat against Dalibor Svrcina from Czechia, while Liam Draxl from Newmarket, Ontario, faced off against American Andrew Johnson later in the day.