At the Australian Open, Jennifer Brady Heads to Her Second-Ever Grand Slam Singles Semifinal

Professional tennis player Jennifer Brady is off to the semifinals at the 2021 Australian Open [1]. It's only the second time she has made it this far at a Grand Slam singles tournament — she competed in the quarterfinal, then semifinal, match during the 2020 US Open.

The 25-year-old rose to prominence in 2017 when she reached the fourth round at both the Australian Open and US Open. After that 2017 Australian Open run, Brady said her world changed. "I couldn't really believe it [2], to be honest with you," she recalled on the Tennis Channel podcast. "A part of me . . . I don't think I was really ready for that type of success." Lower-level events, she said, are "a grind," and once you get through to the higher ranks at Grand Slams, you realise "this is where I want to be, and this is where I want to stay."

Keep reading for some fast facts about Brady.

Jennifer Brady Played Tennis at UCLA For 2 Years

Brady played collegiate tennis for the UCLA Bruins and was Freshman/Newcomer of the Year [4]. She also claimed a Pac-12 singles title [5] as a freshman and was a member of the team when they won the 2014 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship. She stayed on through her sophomore season and proceeded to go pro in the summer of 2015 [6].

"For me, college was a big learning experience on and off the court [7], just growing as a person, becoming more mature," Brady told The New York Times last year.

Jennifer Brady Picked Up a Racket at Age 7

Brady said on the Tennis Channel podcast that, growing up in Pennsylvania, she always liked sports and would play "with the boys," whether it was basketball, tackle football, kickball, or baseball. She took up tennis when she was 7 years old. Her competitive nature runs deep, and she spent her teenage years training at the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, FL.

She's the First Woman Who Played Collegiate Tennis to Reach the US Open Semifinal Since 1987

According to The New York Times, in 2020, Brady was the first former collegiate woman tennis player to make it to the US Open quarterfinals since Gigi Fernandez in 1994. Then, she became the first woman tennis player who'd played in college to make the US Open women's semifinal since Lori McNeil in 1987 [8].

Jennifer Brady Reached the Semifinals in Doubles at the 2019 Australian Open

Though Brady didn't advance to a singles semifinal round at a Grand Slam until 2020, she and her partner Alison Riske made it through to the doubles semifinals at the Australian Open in 2019. Separately, Brady made it to the quarterfinals in doubles at the same Grand Slam the year prior and in 2020.

Jennifer Brady Has a Twin Sister

Brady keeps much of her family life private, but we know she has a twin sister named Jessica, who, as of last year, was enrolled in medical school. Brady told Tennis.com at the 2020 Top Seed Open, where she won her first WTA singles title of her career, that her sister follows her matches, "but is not one to get nervous [9]. She's happy for me whether I win or lose."

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