'I love that he connects with the younger players' - Wimbledon qualifier Carson Branstine details meeting Novak Djokovic

One of the surprise stories of the first week at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships was that of Canadian tennis player Carson Branstine, who fought through the qualifying rounds to make it to the grass court Grand Slam event.

The California-born player faced an uphill battle in the qualifying rounds, as she defeated recent Roland Garros semifinalist Lois Boisson and former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu en route to making the main draw at SW19. Unfortunately, her Wimbledon campaign came to an end at the hands of World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in the first round, but Branstine's story has served as an inspiration for many.

Branstine crossed paths with a tennis legend in London

The 24-year old won the hearts of many with her grit and passion during her match against Sabalenka. Following her loss, she made an appearance on The Slice Tennis podcast, where she discussed her early career and future plans.

Branstine admitted to almost quitting tennis after her hard work was not paying off in ways she would like. The World No.194 took up several jobs prior to her appearance at SW19, including driving for food delivery platform, UberEATS. However, her perseverance paid off and she eventually found herself playing in the main draw of Wimbledon.

It was on her walk to perform media duties after her opening round match against Sabalenka that Branstine bumped into 24-time Grand Slam champion, Novak Djokovic, who acknowledged her, much to her surprise.

"He was like, 'Carson!'", said Branstine. "And I was like 'oh my gosh! Hey you, what's up'. He was super nice and was with his kids. And he thanked me for shouting him out."

Branstine would add that the Serbian complimented her game, stating he would like to talk to her more about tennis.

"He's so awesome and I love that he connects with a lot of the younger players," said Branstine. "It's an important thing especially for someone who's at that stage in their career. I wish more players did that, especially on the women's side as I don't think there' anyone quite as engaging."