Bianca Andreescu, the winner of the 2019 women’s title, and compatriot Carson Branstine from Canada both emerged victorious in their matches on Wednesday, securing spots in the final round of U.S. Open qualification matches.

Hailing from Mississauga, Ontario, Andreescu dominated her second-round match in the women’s singles qualification event, defeating Veronika Podrez from Ukraine with a scoreline of 6-0, 6-3. The 26-year-old Canadian managed to break her opponent’s serve five times out of 12 opportunities, setting up a showdown on Thursday against either Tamara Zidansek from Slovenia or Guiomar Maristany from Spain.

Branstine, a 25-year-old dual citizen born in California and representing her mother’s homeland, secured a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Linda Fruhvirtova from Czechia. She capitalized on all five of her break-point opportunities and delivered 22 winners compared to Fruhvirtova’s eight. Branstine is scheduled to face Robin Montgomery from the United States in a crucial match on Thursday for a chance to enter the main draw.

Andreescu made headlines at the 2019 U.S. Open by becoming the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title, triumphing over the legendary Serena Williams in the final. Her last appearance at the tournament was in 2024, where she was defeated by Maria Sakkari in the opening round.

Reflecting on her past performances, Branstine faced an early exit in the qualifying round of last year’s U.S. Open. However, she made her Grand Slam debut earlier this year at Wimbledon, emerging from the qualifiers and even besting her friend and occasional doubles partner, Andreescu, in the process.

In other second-round qualifying matches on Wednesday, Vancouver’s experienced player Rebecca Marino suffered a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Russia’s Elena Pridankina. On the men’s side, Alexis Galarneau from Levis, Quebec, was defeated 7-6 (3), 6-2 by Dalibor Svrcina from Czechia, while Liam Draxl from Newmarket, Ontario, was slated to face American Andrew Johnson later in the day.