Wimbledon’s Most Beautiful Player Opens Up on Being Targeted by Trolls: ‘You’re an Alien’

In the week leading up to her Centre Court debut, Carson Branstine’s name began appearing across multiple media outlets—not just in match previews, but in lifestyle sections. When she lost to Aryna Sabalenka after a “tough second set”, more than the results, conversations revolved around her dual identity.

Signed with Wilhelmina, Branstine works as a professional model alongside her tennis career and completed commercial campaigns for brands such as Zara and Lululemon. Her “cool little side hustle”, as she likes to call it, was a mere means to self-finance her professional tennis journey without having to rely on sponsorships or family support. 

Her qualification for Wimbledon came after three consecutive wins in the qualifying draw, including a final-round victory over former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu. That result earned her a main-draw debut against World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. As Wimbledon’s official galleries and match-day photo wires went live, Branstine’s images were picked up widely, particularly her entrance onto No. 1 Court and her media-day portraits. Getty Images featured her in both action shots and formal pre-tournament frames. And even Sabalenka couldn’t help but call her “super pretty”. Yet, she wasn’t good enough for trolls—she looks “like a man,” some said. But, she had a reply of her own. 

In an interview with The Sun, Branstine said, “People like to comment their opinions on stuff when they don’t really know anything, but it doesn’t bother me. The two most common quote, unquote, hate comments have actually confirmed exactly why I am a signed model so it’s like thanks guys, you’re not saying anything I don’t know.”

She further added, “Calling me an alien. I’ve seen comments, been DM’d, and just things on different news articles or on Twitter, Instagram or whatever, saying, ‘Oh, your eyes look far apart’. ‘You’re an alien’. I’m an alien. I say this all the time. So it’s like, OK, confirmation or people are like, ‘Oh, you look like a man or you look like a boy and have masculine features’.” However, she doesn’t let these things bother her too much.

“I’m like, that’s also the point. That is celebrated in the modelling industry. So I’m like, thank you guys for confirming that Wilhelmina made a great decision to sign me because that’s awesome. I totally agree.” She received a $88,000 cheque for her first Grand Slam appearance, but off the court or the ramp, her life is even richer.

Branstine is a standout at Texas A&M University, which also played a vital role in leading her team to a national title in 2024. Other than that, the player who turned a lot of heads during Wimbledon has studied Society, Ethics and Law, along with minors in Philosophy and Sports Management. She has also gained hands-on legal experience by working alongside a family law attorney, and Carson Branstine also shared her intention to attend law school down the line.

But, tennis has still played a huge role in Branstine’s life. She claims the sport has given her a free college education, best friends, and also allowed her the chance to see the world. Branstine has time and again reflected on how much she enjoys playing this game; however, there was a time when she was even “ready to hang it up.” One can only hope that her experience at Wimbledon fueled her desire to play further.

Carson Branstine shares her experience at the 2025 Wimbledon

In an interview, Carson confessed that she had given herself an ultimatum that if she didn’t make it to Roland Garros by this year, she would quit. And now, her next goal is to break into the Top 100 by next season. After finishing her campaign at Wimbledon, she set yet another ultimatum for herself.

Well, this time she claimed that she has to break into the Top 100 before deleting the Uber driver app. Later on, she went on to reveal that she hasn’t driven anyone via the app, because drivers have to be 25 or older per Uber’s policies.

Things are looking bright for the Canadian. She got a chance to meet her tennis idol, Novak Djokovic, at SW19. It was multiple firsts of many for her at Wimbledon. With countless strawberries and the best memories, all she now wants is to experience a similar thing 365 days later. Summing it all up, she tweeted, “Wimbledon is so fun!! I had so much fun!! Tennis is fun!!“