From Ball Crew to the Baseline? Bea Nikki Degoma’s US Open Dream
Bea Nikki Degoma’s US Open Dream
Bea Nikki Degoma’s US Open story begins beside the court, not across the net. But another tennis player once stood in a remarkably similar place — and eventually returned to collect Grand Slam trophies.
At the 2026 US Open, a 17-year-old Filipina-American named Bea Nikki Degoma is among the young people working close to some of the best tennis players in the world.
She is part of the tournament’s ball crew.
According to a Manila Bulletin report published September 7, Degoma emerged from a selection process that began with roughly 3,000 applicants, with more than 300 ultimately serving on the US Open ball crew.
That’s already quite a story.
But it wasn’t the part that caught our attention.
Because Bea isn’t simply picking up tennis balls.
She wants to become a professional tennis player herself.
And that reminded us of someone.
Bea Nikki Degoma’s US Open dream goes beyond the ball crew
Degoma has already played varsity tennis and received support from the USTA Foundation. Manila Bulletin reported that she is preparing for NCAA Division II tennis at Daemen University in Buffalo, New York.
Her connection to the US Open therefore isn’t simply that of a young fan fortunate enough to work beside the court.
She is watching players compete at the level she hopes one day to reach herself.
There are no guarantees in professional tennis. The journey from junior and college competition to the professional tour is brutally difficult, and very few young players ultimately make it.
But Bea’s position beside the court brought another story immediately to mind.
The story of Desirae Krawczyk.
Before the Grand Slam trophies, Desirae Krawczyk was a ball girl
Long before Krawczyk became one of the world’s accomplished doubles players, she spent years working as a ball kid at Indian Wells.
And she wasn’t merely watching.
She was dreaming.
Krawczyk later recalled spending two weeks every year around the world’s leading players. Being on court with them made her think, in her own words, “I want to do what they do.”
In another interview reflecting on those years at Indian Wells, Krawczyk described the experience as a dream for someone who loved tennis and aspired to become a professional player.
That makes the parallel with Bea particularly interesting.
A young tennis player.
A ball kid at one of the sport’s biggest tournaments.
Professional players competing only meters away.
And a private thought:
Maybe one day that could be me.
Then Desirae came back to collect trophies
Krawczyk kept playing.
She went through college tennis at Arizona State University before joining the professional tour, eventually establishing herself as an elite doubles player.
And those childhood dreams produced quite a collection.
She became a four-time Grand Slam mixed-doubles champion:
🏆2021 Roland Garros — champion
🏆2021 Wimbledon — champion
🏆2021 US Open — champion
🏆2022 Wimbledon — champion
Her first Roland Garros and US Open mixed titles came alongside Joe Salisbury, while her two Wimbledon titles came with Neal Skupski.
The transformation is difficult to miss.
Once she retrieved tennis balls for professional players.
Years later, she returned to the sport’s biggest stages as one of them.
Bea Nikki Degoma and the view from beside the court
None of this means Bea Nikki Degoma will follow the same path.
We’re certainly not making that prediction.
Professional tennis is far too difficult for promises like that.
But that’s also what makes her story worth remembering now — before anyone knows how it ends.
Today, Bea is standing beside some of the best tennis players in the world, picking up their tennis balls while pursuing a tennis career of her own.
Desirae Krawczyk once stood in a remarkably similar place.
And years later, she came back to collect Grand Slam trophies.
Maybe that’s the beautiful thing about being a ball kid with a tennis dream.
You’re not only standing close enough to watch it.
You’re standing close enough to imagine yourself inside it.
And perhaps, years from now, we’ll have a reason to come back to this story.
📌 Story Status: Watching
Bea Nikki Degoma is still at the beginning of her tennis journey. Tennis Roundup will revisit this story if that journey gives us another chapter.
Who knows, someday we’ll see Bea return to the US Open with a racket in her hand instead.
Sources
For Bea Nikki Degoma’s story: Manila Bulletin, Mark Rey Montejo, “At the US Open, a Filipina is also part of the ball crew,” September 7, 2026.
For Desirae Krawczyk’s journey from Indian Wells ball kid to professional player: Arizona State / Sun Devil Athletics profile, WTA interview with Krawczyk, and WTA player profile.