Meet Carson Branstine, the 24-year-old model who graduated from Texas A&M and will take on Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon 2025

24-year-old Carson Branstine is set to make her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon 2025. She successfully qualified for the tournament and will lock horns with World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the first round. She beat Lois Boisson, this year's French Open semifinalist, former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, and Raluca Georgina Serban in the qualifying rounds.

Branstine's breakthrough moment has been in the making for years. She was born to an American father and a Canadian mother in September 2000. Her elder sisters Cassidy and Constance play collegiate tennis and her cousin is Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers. She represented the USA until 2017 before switching her loyalties to Canada.

She was a promising junior talent, winning the girls' doubles title with Andreescu at the Australian Open and the French Open in 2017. She made her WTA Tour debut at the Canadian Open that year after being awarded a wildcard in doubles with Andreescu, eventually losing in the second round. They advanced to their first tour-level final a week later at the Quebec Open but came up short in the summit clash.

Branstine then focused on her studies, majoring in society, ethics and law with a minor in philosophy. She initially accepted a full scholarship at the University of Southern California in 2019 and then transferred to University of Virginia. She was due to play tennis at both colleges but couldn't because of an injury.

She then sought another transfer and moved to Texas A&M, from where she eventually graduated. She represented them for two seasons before another injury derailed her plans. She reached the top 10 in both singles and doubles during her college career.

Branstine's focus on law during her college days also led to a brief stint in a law firm during the off season. However, that's not the only juggling act she has successfully managed to accomplish.

Carson Branstine funds her tennis career through her modelling gigs

Carson Branstine at the Libema Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Being a full-time tennis player isn't cheap, especially if one doesn't rise to the top right off the bat. Hotel stays, bouncing from one country to another, coaches and equipment- these major expenses claim a bulk of the prize money earned by the players.

Carson Branstine didn't want to rely on her family to fund her passion for tennis. She figured out a way to finance her tennis career by turning to modelling. It's quite easy for her to balance that with tennis and keep her career going. She is signed to a couple of professional modelling agencies as well.

Branstine is now having her moment in the sun after years of perseverance. She made her WTA Tour debut in singles at the Libema Open a couple of weeks ago. She came through the qualifying rounds and ousted top seed Liudmila Samsonova in the first round before losing to Elena-Gabriela Ruse.

The Canadian is now ready to be in the spotlight at Wimbledon. Her opening-round contest against the top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka will take place on Monday, June 30, at 1:00 p.m. local time on No.1 Court.

Edited by Rohit