grapplingstars.com, femcompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling.com, fcielitecompetitor.com fciwomenswrestling2.com articles, pexels.com-photo Andrea-Piacquadio
September 3, 2020,
She has steadily risen in the rankings and yet few seem to know how high or how far she has come, so fast.
America’s Sofia Kenin is currently ranked number 4 in the world.
That is ahead of fellow American mega stars and Grand Slam winners in Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens along with Grand Slam finalist Madison Keys.
Sofia Kenin is the reigning champion at the 2020 Australian Open and the youngest American to win a Grand Slam women’s singles title since Serena Williams in 1999.
She was named the WTA Most Improved Player of the Year in 2019, making her the first American to win the award also since Serena Williams in 1999.
Sofia has won five WTA singles titles in total. She has also won two WTA doubles titles, including the 2019 China Open at the Premier Mandatory level with Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
As you can see, she has already built up quite a resume for herself.
Sofia was born on November 14, 1998 in Moscow to Alexander and Lena Kenin.
Her family moved to the United States a few months after she was born. They had previously left the Soviet Union to live in New York City in 1987, but returned to Russia for Kenin’s birth so that other family members could help raise her initially.
Her mother had worked as a nurse in the Soviet Union, and her parents had little money when they first moved to the United States. Her parents recognized her potential and arranged for her to begin training with Rick Macci in Broward County, Florida.
Even if some of us have come to the party late, others saw her talents very early on.
Sofia was a child prodigy whose talents attracted the attention of veteran coach Rick Macci at the age of five.
Though coached primarily by her father, our American star became a promising junior player, reaching No. 2 in the world after winning the Orange Bowl at the age of 16 and finishing runner-up at the 2015 US Open girls’ singles event the following year.
She also won the USTA Girls 18s National Championship during that summer.
On the professional tour, from 2013 through 2017, Sofia began playing low-level tournaments on the ITF circuit in 2013 and won her first two professional matches at the age of 14.
Sofia made her professional debut in the top 100 of the WTA rankings in 2018 as a teenager.
At the 2017 US Open, Sofia advanced beyond the first round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, defeating compatriots Lauren Davis and Sachia Vickery before losing to the 2006 champion Maria Sharapova in the third round.
With her improved ranking, Sofia was able to play primarily on the WTA Tour in 2018.
Having won the Junior Fed Cup in 2014, Sofia was nominated for her first senior Fed Cup tie in the 2018 final against the Czech Republic.
She reached four WTA singles finals in 2019, three of which she won.
Kenin’s championship run at the 2020 Australian Open was highlighted by a victory over home favorite and world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty.
Before this title, her best result at a Grand Slam tournament came at the 2019 French Open, where she defeated Serena Williams and made it to the fourth round.
We had kept an eye on Sofia’s rise but it was in the fourth round at the 2020 Australian Open where she defeated a hard charging fellow American Coco Gauff that really impressed us. It wasn’t that she just won, it was how she won.
The first two sets were fierce and close with Coco winning the first 7-6. Then Sofia gained her footing and won the second set 6-3.
It was the third set when we began to think privately, and the announcers began to remark publicly, how Sofia has the ability to grind it out and potentially demoralize an opponent.
She defeated Coco by winning the third set 6-0.
Sofia has an aggressive style of play that is built around incorporating a variety of shots into her game rather than just power.
She plays primarily from the baseline and can hit winners with both her forehand and backhand. She excels at disguising whether her backhand is going cross-court or down the line.
Two of Sofia’s best shots are her backhand down the line and her inside-in forehand. She can also strategically add slice to her backhand, which she may use to hit well-disguised drop shot winners.
On the defensive side, Kenin is capable of hitting her forehand even as high as shoulder height.
We’ve seen it. It is a formidable, fluid and powerful motion.
Today was another example of her all-around game as she took out Canada’s relentless Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3.
In watching the match, Sofia got behind early, but her maturity was evident as she slowly and methodically began to dismantle Ms. Fernandez.
It was also evident that both Sofia’s serve and return of serve have greatly improved and she used both to thwart off any comeback attempt that Leylah entertained to get back into the match.
The Canadian was not one to be taken lightly. The team at usopen.org expressed, “While Kenin walked into Arthur Ashe Stadium as the odds-on favorite, her teenaged opponent, ranked No. 104 in the world, has proved herself to be dangerous, taking out Vera Zvonareva in her Round 1 match, 6-4, 7-5. The Canadian lefty has also posted wins against Sloane Stephens and Belinda Bencic in her first year as a pro.
Sofia did not take her lightly.
Sailing in as the number two seed at the Open, Sofia is quickly being viewed as a possible contender to win it all. Previously, that honor went to both Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka.
Serena will have her hands full in the third round as she faces the 2017 US Open Champion in fellow American Sloane Stephens. That one should be a firecracker match.
Sofia’s road to the finals could be a tough one. She’s not going to sneak up on anyone. The top players know her game and style of play very well.
Still, given how Sofia is leveling opponents, knowing what she going to do and trying to stop it are two very different things.
~ ~ ~
OPENING PHOTO grapplingstars.com, femcompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling.com, fcielitecompetitor.com fciwomenswrestling2.com articles, New York Times photo
https://news.yahoo.com/serena-back-action-kenin-advances-182239332.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia_Kenin
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
