Although she was knocked out in the first round, Carson Branstine became one of the biggest heroines of this year's Wimbledon tournament – and not necessarily because of her performance on the court. The 24-year-old American-Canadian, who was ranked 190th at the start of the iconic grass tournament, made it through the qualifiers and faced the toughest opponent of all – world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. She managed to challenge her at times, but ultimately lost 6:1, 7:5, and her journey ended.
The international media continues to cover her even after her exit, as this is not a standard story of a rising tennis star. In a recent interview, Branstine, who also works as a model, spoke about the long and difficult path that led her to center stage.
"One day I looked at my bank account and saw I had 26 dollars. I burst into tears. I didn't know how I would even get to the next tournament – or even survive," she said. To fund her career, she began working as a food delivery driver in Los Angeles – after grueling training sessions. "I called a few friends, but not my parents. I didn't take a single dollar from them. I just told myself: Don’t overthink. Just do it," she shared. "I would go deliver meals to people after training, and that funded my dream."
"When you're playing in ITF tournaments and funding yourself, it's expensive. Even just filling up gas in Los Angeles was exhausting," she added. By the way, she also holds a bachelor's degree in society, ethics, and law – not exactly the classic example of a tennis player. "I worked with a lawyer, I was in that world and it interested me, but tennis always called me back," she said.
Before the big match against Sabalenka, she was also asked about her modeling career and replied: "I love being in front of the camera. It's fun and one of the things that helped me fund travel to tennis tournaments. The agencies didn’t sign me because I play tennis, but because of how I look. There's a strange similarity between modeling and tennis – you're often seen as an object, and people forget you're also a human being."
After her elimination, Branstine fulfilled another dream and met "the greatest player ever and my idol" – Novak Djokovic. She also boosted her status on social media, and now has over 70,000 followers on Instagram.