Wild card Katrina Scott makes her mark in New York

This time last year, Katrina Scott enjoying a quarterfinal run at the junior US Open. This year, she's making a splash in the big leagues: In her debut on Tuesday, she posted a 7-6 (3), 6-2 win over Natalia Vikhlyantseva.

"It didn't really settle in until I finally went into the locker room, and I looked at my phone and a bunch of people had texted me," Scott told press. "But it's definitely like I belong and this is what I want to do for the rest of my life."

Scott was not expecting to compete at all, but due to a significant amount of players dropping out of the event, a wildcard was extended to the 16-year-old. She's handling the situation like a veteran by focusing on what's next instead of lingering on what's happened.

"It's amazing," she said. "It's a dream come true. I'm going to put this one behind me and look forward to the next one."

Feeling grateful and excited for the opportunity, the world No. 637 was free from nerves as she took the court in her first main-draw Grand Slam appearance. The fact that there are no fans affect younger players like Scott a lot less since they're used to small, or no, crowds at junior and smaller pro events.

"It's a little easier not playing on one of the big courts in front of 10,000 people," she said. "So that makes it a little easier because you don't have as many nerves, but I definitely miss the fans."

Scott has played just one WTA event, last year in the qualifying draw of San Jose. The Californian would fall in three tight sets to former world No. 25 Timea Babos. It was then that the teenager realized she belonged on the pro tour. She'd turn pro later that year, signing with Topnotch Management.

Although she didn't have an electric crowd behind her like she did against Babos, the energy and intensity was still high.

"It was just this feeling and adrenaline rush that this was really for me," Scott said about the San Jose experience. "And again today, I was up 5-2 and I was serving for it, and I was like 'keep focused, it's just another point.'

"When I won and I walked off the court, it was again a realization that this is for me. "

Scott will take on No. 22 seed Amanda Anisimova on Thursday, so she'll have a day off to soak it all in, and to recover from crossing paths with Stefanos Tsitsipas.

"I saw Tsitsipas when I was getting blood tested, and I've seen a lot of the other players before," Scott said. "But I saw him and I was like you're real. I've never seen him in person before. So, I was like oh my God, this is not happening, he just walked right by me."