At No. 131 in the world, Clara Burel might seem outmatched even before she takes on No. 6 Aryna Sabalenka on Day 6 in the Grandstand. Yet she's already proven herself to be a giant killer at this year’s US Open, further building upon her stellar junior career.
Learn more about the 21-year-old Frenchwoman.
She is a David to the Goliaths at the US Open.
Here in her 10th Grand Slam appearance, the 5-foot-9 right-hander is among three players from France and one of only two qualifiers to reach the third round. After shocking No. 25 seed and reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in straight sets, Burel kept up the momentum by toppling No. 43 Alison Van Uytvanck in a three-set thriller.
Promising junior graduates to the world’s biggest stages.
Burel may be winless in three previous encounters with Top 10 opponents, bowing to No. 3 Maria Sakkari at Roland Garros this spring, No. 3 Garbiñe Muguruza at this year's Australian Open, and then-No. 6 Elina Svitolina at last fall in Chicago. But she is no stranger to pressure situations, dating back to her breakout 2018 junior season when she ascended to the No. 1 world ranking after reaching two Grand Slam finals (Australia and US Open) and capturing two medals (silver in singles and bronze in mixed doubles) at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.
Since that time, Burel has played a mix of ITF Circuit and WTA Tour events. In 2021, she reached her maiden WTA final in Lausanne, Switzerland (losing in three sets to Tamara Zidansek) and the quarterfinals at Lyon, while winning the second and third ITF titles of her career on home soil ($60K ITF/Saint-Gaudens and $25K ITF/Cherbourg-en-Cotentin).
Though her ranking has slipped, she peaked in the Top 75.
Burel, whose ranking peaked this past February at No. 74, has also proven successful on other world stages. In fact, she enjoyed her best career win over No. 67 Arantxa Rus at 2020 Roland Garros, where she became the youngest Frenchwoman at age 19 to reach the third round since 18-year-old Alizé Cornet did so in 2008.
Should she continue her streak of upsets today against Sabalenka, Burel will do more than add her name to the US Open history book as the lucky 13th qualifier to advance to the Round of 16 in the Open Era. She will also celebrate a well-earned return to the Top 100.
